Admin

Organization

Chorus master

Erwin Ortner

Singer

Bass

Florian Boesch

Saul

Soprano

Anna Prohaska

Merab

Giulia Semenzato

Michal

Countertenor

Jake Arditti

David

Tenor

Rupert Charlesworth

Jonathan

Rafał Tomkiewicz

Witch of Ender

David Webb

High Priest

Andrew Morstein

Amalekite

Paul Lorenger

Ghost of Samuel

Conductor

Christopher Moulds

Stage director

Claus Guth

Set designer

Christian Schmidt

Lighting designer

Bernd Purkrabek

Choreographer

Ramses Sigl

Dramaturge

Yvonne Gebauer

Costume designer

Video designer

Arian Andiel

MusikTheater an der Wien

Others

Arnold Schoenberg Chor

Orchestra

Freiburger Barockorchester

angličtina

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

Grosser Pausenraum

Saul is the King of Israel, chosen by God and venerated by the people. After David killed Goliath in the battle against the Philistines and was able to return home in triumph, he is presented to Saul and his family. Everyone is dazzled by the young hero’s charisma. Saul’s son Jonathan immediately offers to be his close friend, and Saul himself would like to marry David to his daughter Merab. Merab, however, is dismissive of David, pointing out that he is of lowly birth. The people of Israel now praise not just the popular King Saul, but also David, the new hero. In Saul’s mind, one single sentence echoes: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” This affront hurts Saul deeply and madness takes him. David is told to use the power of his harp to heal him, but his efforts are to no avail. Saul tries to kill David with a javelin, but David escapes. In the end, Saul commands his son Jonathan to murder David. Jonathan refuses. Saul devises a new plan. He now intends to marry David to his younger daughter Michal instead of his older daughter Merab – the two young people are fond of each other, after all. He also intends to send him into battle against the Philistines which he believes will be his certain death. The plan fails, and David returns to the court victorious. Saul again throws a javelin at him. Michal helps David to escape. Saul sends out a search party to find him. Following her initial dislike, Merab has now fallen completely under David’s spell. Saul – increasingly unstable – again decides that David must die. In a fit of uncontrollable anger he attacks his own son. He feels that he has been abandoned by God and the world. At that moment, the Witch of Endor appears to him. He hopes that she will give him counsel. The meeting with the witch confronts him with the future and consequently with his own death. And it is not long before the deaths of the King and his son Jonathan are announced: they died in battle against the Philistines. Songs of great sorrow are sung. Merab and Michal grieve for their brother and their beloved father. David is appointed the new king.



George Frideric Handel had dominated musical life in London with his Italian-style operas ever since his sensational success with Rinaldo in 1711 – going broke twice in the process, incidentally. From the outset, however, there had been critics who demanded operas in English. By the end of the 1730s Italian operas had fallen entirely out of favour in London, so the composer looked for new ways of captivating his listeners. He began to experiment more extensively with English-language oratorios. In 1739, Saul marked the start of his new career. For Handel, oratorios in English had several advantages: He satisfied the opponents of Italian opera, did not have to pay the expensive fees commanded by Italian singing stars, and did not have to budget for opulent sets and costumes. Possibly to compensate for the lack of visuals, Handel scored Saul for remarkably rich and novel instrumentation: to begin with he used instruments that were thought at the time to have been used in the days of King David (1000 BC), such as trombones and extensive percussion. To this he added a harp, required by David’s use of one in the piece as a means of trying to soothe Saul, and a carillon, a set of bells played by striking a keyboard, that succinctly portrays Saul’s madness as the oratorio progresses. Furthermore, the structure of Saul still shows a great affinity with opera because unlike conventional oratorios there is no narrator. Instead, the characters speak to and across one another. These dramatic elements make it almost natural to present Saul not in concert form, as is traditional for an oratorio, but to think of it in terms of a staged production. In the 2017/18 season, director Claus Guth and his set designer Christian S

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Florian Boesch, Jake Arditti, Anna Prohaska, Giulia Semenzato, Rupert Charlesworth, Arnold Schoenberg ChorFreiburger Barockorchester, conducted by Christophe...

Saul Händel

Since the sensational success of Rinaldo in 1711 , George Frideric Handel had dominated London musical life with his Italian-style operas – and incidentally went broke twice. But from the beginning there were critics who called for operas in the English language. By the late 1730s, Londoners no longer wanted to see Italian opera. The composer now sought ways to recapture his audience and experimented more extensively with the English-language oratorio. With Saulbegan his new career in 1739. Oratorios in English had several advantages for Handel: he satisfied the opponents of Italian opera, he saved himself the high fees of the Italian star singers, and he didn't have to budget for elaborate and expensive decorations and costumes. Possibly to make up for the lack of visuals, Handel orchestrated his Saul in an extremely rich and original way: At first he used instruments that were believed to have been in use in David's time (1000 BC), such as trombones or a lot of percussion. There was also a harp, which David used in the piece to calm Saul, and a carillon, a chime to be played from a keyboard, which succinctly echoed Saul's madness as the oratorio progressed. In addition, Saul's structure is very similar to that of the opera, because instead of being equipped with a narrator - as in a conventional oratorio - the characters here speak to and about one another. These dramatic elements are predestinedSaul  , not to bring it to the stage in concert, as is traditional with an oratorio, but to think of it scenically. Director Claus Guth and his set designer Christian Schmidt took on this challenge in the 2017/18 season. Together they created a highly acclaimed production that offers many associations and - as Handel intended - fully engages with the title character. As in 2018, our artist-in-residence Florian Boesch takes on the title role of the desperate King Saul, who sees his power slowly waning.

English

Georg Friedrich Händel hatte seit seinem Sensationserfolg Rinaldo im Jahr 1711 das Londoner Musikleben mit seinen Opern italienischen Zuschnitts dominiert – und ging, nebenbei bemerkt, zweimal pleite. Aber von Anfang an gab es Kritiker, die Opern in englischer Sprache forderten. Ende der 1730er Jahre wollten die Londoner keine  italienische Oper mehr sehen. Der Komponist suchte nun nach Möglichkeiten, sein Publikum erneut zu fesseln und experimentierte ausführlicher mit dem englischsprachigen Oratorium. Mit Saul begann 1739 seine neue Karriere. Oratorien in englischer Sprache hatten gleich mehrere Vorteile für Händel: Er befriedigte die Gegner der italienischen Oper, er sparte sich die hohen Gagen der italienischen Star-Sängerinnen und -Sänger, und er musste keine Kosten für aufwändige und teure Dekorationen und Kostüme einplanen. Möglicherweise um den Mangel an Optischem wett zu machen, instrumentierte Händel seinen Saul äußerst reich und originell: Zunächst nutzte er Instrumente, von denen man damals glaubte, dass sie zu Davids Zeit (1000 v. Chr.) schon verwendet wurden, wie zum Beispiel Posaunen oder viel Schlagwerk. Dazu kam auch eine Harfe, die David im Stück vorgibt, indem er damit Saul beruhigt sowie ein Carillon, ein über eine Tastatur zu spielendes Glockenspiel, das im Verlauf des Oratoriums prägnant Sauls Wahn verklanglicht. Außerdem weist Saul in seiner Anlage noch große Nähe zur Oper auf, denn statt – wie in einem  herkömmlichen Oratorium – mit einem Erzähler ausgestattet, sprechen hier die Figuren mit- und übereinander. Diese dramatischen Elemente prädestinieren Saul  geradezu, ihn nicht konzertant, wie traditionell ein Oratorium, auf die Bühne zu bringen, sondern szenisch zu denken. Dieser Herausforderung stellte sich in der  Spielzeit 2017/18 der Regisseur Claus Guth mit seinem Ausstatter Christian Schmidt. Gemeinsam schufen sie eine hoch akklamierte Produktion, die viele  Assoziationsräume bietet und – wie von Händel vorgesehen – sich voll auf die  Titelfigur einlässt. Die Titelpartie des verzweifelten Königs Saul, der seine Macht langsam schwinden sieht, übernimmt – wie 2018 schon – unser Artist in residence Florian Boesch.

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