Samson (Handel)

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Samson ( HWV 57) is an oratorio in three acts by Georg Friedrich Handel .

Emergence

Handel began the composition immediately after the conclusion of the Messiah , that is after September 14, 1741. He finished the first act on September 20. He completed the second act on October 11, the entire oratorio on October 29. Shortly afterwards he traveled to Ireland to perform the Messiah there. At the end of August 1742 he returned to London and revised the Samson again thoroughly.

The premiere took place on February 18, 1743 at the Covent Garden Theater. The organ concerto played as inter-act music was probably the concerto in A major (HWV 307) that had just been completed.

The then extremely popular actress and singer of the Theater Royal Drury Lane , Kitty Clive , who became friends with Handel in the following years, designed the role of Dalila in this oratorio as a separate performance on the London stage in 1743, which further enhances the success of both artists was increased.

libretto

The libretto was created by Newburgh Hamilton based on the tragedy Samson Agonistes by John Milton in 1671. The plot is based on an event described in the Book of Judges (Judges 16, 23-31).

people

The cast was sung by the following singers at the world premiere:

action

first act

Samson, blind and chained, recovers from his slave labor because the Philistines celebrate a festival in honor of their god Dagon. He grieves his fate.

The Israelites watch as the once invincible hero now lies without hope. Micah sees his lot reflect that of the whole people. Samson blames himself for allowing himself to be betrayed by a woman. He particularly laments the loss of his eyesight.

Samson's father Manoa see him and is shocked by his change. Samson longs for death, but the Israelite choir comforts him that he will then triumph over time and death.

Second act

Micah and the Israelites call on God to contemplate the plagues of his servant.

Dalila, who betrayed Samson, appears to regain Samson's love. But whatever she does to entice him, he rejects her.

The Philistine Harapha comes to pity Samson. He challenges him to a duel, but Harapha reviles Samson and claims that it is below his dignity to fight a blind man. Samson mocks him as a boastful man. Micah suggests measuring the power of Dagon against that of the God of the Israelites. The choirs on both sides praise their respective gods.

Third act

Harapha wants to pick up Samson to put him on display at the Philistine Festival. Samson initially refuses to be present at the religious rites. But then he goes to the festival with a plan and admonishes the Israelites to stay away.

Manoah comes to the Israelites with plans for how Samson can be set free. In the distance you can hear the songs of the Philistines calling on Dagon. Suddenly you hear noise and excitement.

An Israelite messenger comes and reports what happened: Samson tore down the festival building and buried himself and the assembled Philistines under it. Samson's body is carried and the Israelites start a funeral march. Finally, Yahweh is praised.

literature

  • Winton Dean : Handel's Dramatic Oratorios and Masques . Clarendon, Oxford 1989, ISBN 0-19-816184-0 , (Original edition: Oxford University Press, Oxford 1959), (English).
  • Hans Joachim Marx : Handel's oratorios, odes and serenatas. A compendium . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1998, ISBN 3-525-27815-2 .
  • Albert Scheibler, Julia Evdokimova: Georg Friedrich Händel. Oratorios guides . Edition Cologne, Lohmar 1993, ISBN 3-928010-04-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Berta Joncus: Trading at Drury Lane: Ballad Opera and the Production of Kitty Clive. In: Journal of the Royal Musical Association . Volume 131, part 2, Oxford 2006, pp. 179-226.