Organization

Conductor

Lars Ulrik Mortensen

Stage director

Barrie Kosky

Set designer

Katrin Lea Tag

Costume designer

Choreographer

Otto Pichler

Lighting designer

Joachim Klein

Singer

Soprano

Clara Cecilie Thomsen

Merab

Mirjam Mesak

Michal

Bass

Christopher Purves

Saul

Countertenor

Morten Grove Frandsen

David

Tenor

Benjamin Hulett

Jonathan

Thomas Cilluffo

Abner

Doeg

Amalekite

High Priest

Michael Kristensen

Witch of Ender

Concerto Copenhagen

Royal Danish Opera

Orchestra

Others

Det Kongelige Operakor

Chorus master

Steven Moore

English

Copenhagen

Denmark

Operaen (Copenhagen Opera House)

Store Scene

Saul Händel

Public

Danish

Approved

Et brag af en operaopsætning med spektakulære scenebilleder

Barrie Koskys prisbelønnede opsætning af Händels Saul er en operaoplevelse i særklasse med overdådige periodekostumer og maleriske tableauer.

Saul er nok den bedste opera, Händel aldrig skrev. På titelbladet kaldte han det et oratorium, men værket har alt, hvad man kan forvente af en sprudlende barokopera.

Händel satte musik til den gammeltestamentlige fortælling om Saul, der bliver så misundelig på den unge David, at han krakelerer og som en anden kong Lear ender i et vanvid af shakespeareske dimensioner.

Saul synges af den engelske basbaryton Christopher Purves og David af den danske kontratenor Morten Grove Frandsen. Barokorkestret Concerto Copenhagen akkompagnerer med sprøde barokklange på deres originalinstrumenter under ledelse af specialist i tidlig musik Lars Ulrik Mortensen. Den Kongelige Operas samarbejde med Concerto Copenhagen har affødt flere baroksucceser blandt andet Händels Julius Cæsar.

Stjerneinstruktøren bag Det Kongelige Teaters populære opsætning af Carmen, Barrie Kosky, har skabt iscenesættelsen, der byder på masser af dans og kostumer med wow-effekter tilsat spektakulære scenebilleder og et helt scenegulv dækket af flakkende stearinlys.

Saul synges på engelsk med danske overtekster.

dansk

An extravaganza of an opera production with spectacular stage sets

Barrie Kosky’s award-winning production of Händel’s Saul is an operatic extravaganza in a class of its own and features sumptuous period costumes and picturesque tableaux.  

Saul is arguably the most accomplished opera Händel never wrote. On the title page, he called it an oratorio, but the work has everything you would expect from an exuberant Baroque opera. 

Händel lent his music to the tale of Saul from the Old Testament, a biblical figure who became so envious of the young David that he lost his wits and, like King Lear, ends up in a deranged state of madness of true Shakespearean calibre.

The role of Saul is performed by English bass baritone Christopher Purves, and David by Danish countertenor Morten Grove Frandsen. They are accompanied by crisp Baroque tunes played on original instruments by the Baroque orchestra Concerto Copenhagen under the direction of specialist in early music, Lars Ulrik Mortensen. The Royal Danish Opera’s collaboration with Concerto Copenhagen has spawned several Baroque music successes, including Handel’s Giulio Cesare. 

The star opera director behind the Royal Danish Theatre’s popular staging of Carmen, Barrie Kosky, stages the performance, which promises plenty of wow-inducing step and costume designs with added spectacular stage imagery, including an entire stage floor covered in flickering candles.

Saul is performed in English with Danish supertitles.

Saul by Händel, From (2024/2024), Directed by Barrie Kosky,, Conductor Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Operaen (Copenhagen Opera House), Copenhagen, Denmark

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Co-Producer

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues