The Story
The tale is entirely biblical. In I Samuel, the story of Saul tells of the first king of Israel's relationship with his eventual successor, one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred, ultimately leading to the downfall of the eponymous monarch.
Saul like David was the son of a herdsman, appointed king by the Israelites against the wishes of prophet Samuel and his God. That’s a bad start to a reign, especially since despite a lot of slaying of Israel’s enemies he kept breaking God’s orders as conveyed by Samuel, such as to kill all the enemies’ cattle. God gave up on him even before our story starts.
David, however, tried to calm him with music on a harp, and was aggressively attacked for his efforts. (For the nonreligious, here's a splendid skeptical analysis, complete with works of art.) After our story David wages war on Israel successfully and so becomes its king.
The splendid image of King David accepted in western art wasn't questioned by Handel's librettist. But the evidence for it makes interesting reading, a new book arguing 'The world has a romantic view of King David, for whom there's precious little hard evidence.'
The plot
This is Handel's first work with Charles Jennens as librettist - and he wrote for the music Handel now wanted to produce (though not without conflict - read Wikipedia''s account of the partnership here. Jennens went on to write the libretto for Messiah. The story in the opera is based firmly on (some of) the versions in the Bible. Synopsis here.
The Music
An opera? No, it’s an oratorio, but never, surely, has a concert piece so demanded the fullness of opera. Barrie Kosky reveled in the opportunity, with the production we're viewing, which came from Glyndebourne to Adelaide. Review here.
Handel had turned to oratorio when Italian opera style lost support in London. (Read about the difference. There's a good comparison here with an account of Handel’s relations with the librettist, Jenner.
The voice parts in Saul are gems of baroque. David’s role offers glorious arias. Here’s Iestyn Davies, from the production we’ll watch, with David’s sweet aria, 'O Lord, whose Mercies numberless' – his unsuccessful attempt to heal Saul’s wounded soul. It’s a jewel for top countertenors. Listen to Hungarian countertenor Gábor Birta in an echoing chapel, or Paul Esswood, and Andreas Scholl.
Oratorio allowed Handel to explore chorus, and chorus towers throughout Saul. Hear it in debate with Saul. And of course everyone who’s ever been to a state funeral knows the Dead March. It must be the most travelled of Handel’s pieces. Compare Stokowski’s orchestration with this simple presentation. It’s the funeral anthem for Saul and Jonathan.
Our Production
We are watching Barrie Kosky’s famous production for Glyndebourne - “‘What do you get when you trust an Australian maverick with the sacred solemnities of Handel's oratorio? A knockout.” (Telegraph). It played in 2018 at the Adelaide Festival. For a wonderful insight go to the images here. “Kosky’s baroque extravaganza could power SA’s electricity grid for a month.”
Lyn, 22/06/22
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