Handel: Saul / The Glyndebourne Chorus / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment / Opus Arte

UPC: 809478012160

Playtime is 3 Hours and 15 Minutes

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.78:1
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.28 x 0.79 x 7.48 inches; 4.16 Ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Francois Roussillon
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Classical
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 3 hours and 15 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ June 24, 2016
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Lucy Crowe, Benjamin Hulett, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Christopher Purves, John Graham-Hall
• Dubbed ‏ : ‎ None
• Subtitles ‏ : ‎ English, German, Korean, French
• Studio ‏ : ‎ BBC / Opus Arte
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Summary

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.

"Musically this evening is well-nigh flawless. No praise too high for the singing of Davies, Appleby, and Purves; of Lucy Crowe and Sophie Bevan as Merab and Michal respectively, and of Benjamin Hullett as a cross between a clown and a soothsayer." (The Independent ★★★★★)

"Barrie Kosky's first show for the company is a theatrical and musical feast of energetic choruses, surreal choreography and gorgeous singing ... Ivor Bolton conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with tremendous elan: theatrically and musically, this is one of Glyndebourne's finest shows of recent years." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"There is nothing safe about this show. It's a knockout that brings the work blazingly alive and transforms bewigged pieties into high human drama." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★★)