Saul
Glyndebourne's Saul stole the summer and had critics raving. The Guardian (****) applauded virtuoso stagecraft from director Barrie Kosky in his debut production there, calling the show a theatrical and musical feast of energetic choruses, surreal choreography and gorgeous singing. For The Independent, which ranked it amongst five top classical and opera performances of 2015, there was no praise too high for the cast. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Ivor Bolton sparkles from the pit with period panache, and designer Katrin Lea Tag's exuberant costumes (The Times ****) set the Old Testament story in Handel's time, with a witty twinge of the contemporary.
Cast
Ivor Bolton
as Conductor
Lucy Crowe
as Merab
Sophie Bevan
as Michal
Christopher Purves
as Saul/Apparition of Samuel
Iestyn Davies
as David
Paul Appleby
as Jonathan
Benjamin Hulett
as Abner/High Priest/Amalekite/Doeg
John Graham-Hall
as Witch of Endor
Alison Bury
as Orchestra Leader
Jeremy Bines
as Chorus Master
