Saul and David: when the struggle for power blows a family apart.
Oratorio in three acts
Libretto by Charles Jennens based on the 1st and 2nd Book of Samuel
Performed in English with German and English supertitles
Premiere
1. June 2025
Dates & Cast
- Conductor Leo Hussain
- Staging Claus Guth
- Set Design & Costume Design Christian Schmidt
- Lighting Design Bernd Purkrabek
- Video Arian Andiel
- Choreography Ramses Sigl
- Staged by Juana Restrepo
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Yvonne Gebauer, Benedikt Stampfli
- Saul Florian Boesch
- David Jake Arditti
- Merab Jasmin Delfs
- Michal Mary Bevan
- Jonathan James Ley
- Abner · High Priest · Doeg Tansel Akzeybek
- Witch of Endor Jake Ingbar
- Conductor Leo Hussain
- Staging Claus Guth
- Set Design & Costume Design Christian Schmidt
- Lighting Design Bernd Purkrabek
- Video Arian Andiel
- Choreography Ramses Sigl
- Staged by Juana Restrepo
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Yvonne Gebauer, Benedikt Stampfli
- Saul Florian Boesch
- David Jake Arditti
- Merab Jasmin Delfs
- Michal Mary Bevan
- Jonathan James Ley
- Abner · High Priest · Doeg Tansel Akzeybek
- Witch of Endor Jake Ingbar
- Conductor Leo Hussain
- Staging Claus Guth
- Set Design & Costume Design Christian Schmidt
- Lighting Design Bernd Purkrabek
- Video Arian Andiel
- Choreography Ramses Sigl
- Staged by Juana Restrepo
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Yvonne Gebauer, Benedikt Stampfli
- Saul Florian Boesch
- David Jake Arditti
- Merab Jasmin Delfs
- Michal Mary Bevan
- Jonathan James Ley
- Abner · High Priest · Doeg Tansel Akzeybek
- Witch of Endor Jake Ingbar
- Conductor Leo Hussain
- Staging Claus Guth
- Set Design & Costume Design Christian Schmidt
- Lighting Design Bernd Purkrabek
- Video Arian Andiel
- Choreography Ramses Sigl
- Staged by Juana Restrepo
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Yvonne Gebauer, Benedikt Stampfli
- Saul Florian Boesch
- David Jake Arditti
- Merab Jasmin Delfs
- Michal Mary Bevan
- Jonathan James Ley
- Abner · High Priest · Doeg Tansel Akzeybek
- Witch of Endor Jake Ingbar
- Conductor Leo Hussain
- Staging Claus Guth
- Set Design & Costume Design Christian Schmidt
- Lighting Design Bernd Purkrabek
- Video Arian Andiel
- Choreography Ramses Sigl
- Staged by Juana Restrepo
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Yvonne Gebauer, Benedikt Stampfli
- Saul Florian Boesch
- David Jake Arditti
- Merab Jasmin Delfs
- Michal Mary Bevan
- Jonathan James Ley
- Abner · High Priest · Doeg Tansel Akzeybek
- Witch of Endor Jake Ingbar
- Conductor Leo Hussain
- Staging Claus Guth
- Set Design & Costume Design Christian Schmidt
- Lighting Design Bernd Purkrabek
- Video Arian Andiel
- Choreography Ramses Sigl
- Staged by Juana Restrepo
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Yvonne Gebauer, Benedikt Stampfli
- Saul Florian Boesch
- David Jake Arditti
- Merab Jasmin Delfs
- Michal Mary Bevan
- Jonathan James Ley
- Abner · High Priest · Doeg Tansel Akzeybek
- Witch of Endor Jake Ingbar
- Conductor Leo Hussain
- Staging Claus Guth
- Set Design & Costume Design Christian Schmidt
- Lighting Design Bernd Purkrabek
- Video Arian Andiel
- Choreography Ramses Sigl
- Staged by Juana Restrepo
- Choir Jan Hoffmann
- Dramaturgy Yvonne Gebauer, Benedikt Stampfli
- Saul Florian Boesch
- David Jake Arditti
- Merab Jasmin Delfs
- Michal Mary Bevan
- Jonathan James Ley
- Abner · High Priest · Doeg Tansel Akzeybek
- Witch of Endor Jake Ingbar
In brief
A maelstrom of violence is unleashed when love turns to envy, when actions are driven by betrayal and madness. David’s triumph over the giant Goliath comes to an abrupt end when King Saul views the young hero as a rival for the throne. Although Saul does everything in his power to kill David, the latter enjoys divine protection. In the end, Saul himself dies and David takes the crown for himself.
With an oeuvre encompassing almost 70 operas and oratorios, George Frideric Handel is one of the most celebrated composers of the Baroque era. First performed in 1739 at the King’s Theatre in London’s Haymarket, his oratorio „Saul“ is a highly political drama that has lost none of its contemporary relevance. Despite its violence, the Biblical tale also provides space for great emotions: for the love story between Saul’s daughter Michal and David as well as for the friendship between the latter and Michal’s brother Jonathan. Incidentally, Saul’s funeral march from the third act became famous in its own right after it was played at public funerals, such as those of Winston Churchill and George Washington.
This staged version by Claus Guth, who has directed a large number of Handel oratorios, celebrated its premiere in Vienna. He sees Saul „as an accurate study of a state, but also of a family, into which an outsider, a foreign body, intrudes and causes everything to explode.”