Norwich, where Costa's Naaman was given again, in the presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Benedict's new cantata St. Cecilia (libretto by Chorley) was introduced. At Hereford in 1867 the main event for Santley was singing with the famous soprano Jenny Lind for the first time, in the oratorio Ruth by Otto Goldschmidt. There, and at Birmingham festival, Willoughby Weiss took most of the sacred bass or baritone roles. Santley sang bass arias from the Messiah, Gounod's Mass, Benedict's St. Cecilia and J. F. Barnett's The Ancient Mariner. Returning to the Birmingham Festival in 1867 he was a soloist in the premiere of the Sacred Cantata The Woman of Samaria by William Sterndale Bennett, conducted by the composer. At the Handel Festival in June 1868 he sang the Messiah solos, and on the selection day, 'O voi dell'Erebo' from La Resurrezione and 'O ruddier than the cherry' from Acis and Galatea. He also sang 'The Lord is a Man of War' with Signor Foli. At Hereford he sang Dr Wesley's anthem The Wilderness, and under Dr Wesley, Elijah, with Louisa Pyne. In 1869 a Rossini festival took place at the Crystal Palace, with a chorus and orchestra of about 3,000, in which he sang in the Stabat Mater, and appeared in the scene of the 'Blessing of the Banners' from The Siege of Corinth. In mid-May he sang in the first performance in England of Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, with the dramatic soprano Thérèse Tietjens, Pietro Mongini and the mezzo-soprano Sofia Scalchi. It was also performed that year at the Worcester and Norwich festivals. At Worcester, Reeves, Santley, Trebelli and Tietjens gave the first performance of Sullivan's The Prodigal Son, under the composer's baton. At Norwich there was also Hugo Pierson's oratorio Hezekiah. At the close of the 1868–69 season of the Philharmonic Society of London Santley, Tietjens and Nilsson took part in the final supernumerary concert, held at St James's Hall for the first time before the Society moved there permanently in the next season. These three singers were among the original ten recipients to be awarded the Society's gold medal at its first presentation in 1871. In early 1870, as his departure from the theatre was approaching, Santley sang at concerts in London and at Exeter Hall. Then, under the management of George Wood, he made a six-week concert tour of the provinces. The touring