As our rehearsal rooms start filling with dancers and singers in preparation for our new production of Handel’s Susanna, here are the five things we think make this work particularly special.
1. A story for our times
Handel’s oratorio takes its inspiration from the biblical story of Susanna and the Elders. Susanna is happily married to Joacim, but two senior members of the community have taken a fancy to her. When her husband is called away on business, they make their move. Susanna resists and the Elders falsely accuse her of adultery, a crime for which she’s put on trial. A young man, Daniel, steps up to defend her – but will the truth be believed?
Although the story of Susanna is centuries-old, for director Olivia Fuchs the work has a powerful contemporary resonance, touching on themes of oppression and gender-based injustice, violence against women, the abuse of power by those in authority, and the potential for a corrupt society to find redemption in the natural world.
Susanna and the Elders © Artemisia Gentileschi (1610)
2. Combining art-forms
This is the fourth major collaboration between fellow Leeds arts organisations Opera North and Phoenix Dance Theatre with the most recent being the 2023 production of Mozart’s Requiem twinned with the new work, After Tears.
For choreographer Marcus Jarrell Willis, Susanna is an exciting opportunity to explore how dance and opera can be integrated more fluidly to give the audience an unforgettable experience:“Working in collaboration gives us a chance to go on one journey together, so that we can create something that we hope will leave every member of the audience feeling moved.”
3. A composer of note
George Frideric Handel was born in 1685 in Germany. Having spent several years in Italy, he eventually settled in London in 1712, writing some of the greatest ‘English’ music ever composed. While Susanna might be new to you, you’ve probably already heard the Messiah, Music for the Royal Fireworks and the anthem ‘Zadok the Priest’ which was such a hit at the coronation of King Charles III.
Handel poured most of his prodigious creative energy into composing music for the stage. Opera North fans will recognise him as the man behind operas such as Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Julius Caesar in Egypt) and Alcina, and he later turned his attention to dramatic oratorios. Which begs the question: what is the difference between an opera and an oratorio?
George Frideric Handel © Balthasar Denner
4. Opera vs. Oratorio
Attracting audiences to opera in Handel’s day depended on being able to afford lavish scenery and hugely expensive singers imported from Italy. When this became increasingly hard to sustain, Handel switched his focus to English oratorio, a form he more or less invented.
Oratorios had several advantages over operas. To begin with, they were written in English, so could be cast with (cheaper) English singers. They were also largely based on biblical stories. At the time, the authorities prohibited these being enacted on stage, so the only way they could be performed in the theatre was as concert performances. This might sound like a disadvantage, but it actually removed the need for all the expensive stage machinery, cutting costs dramatically while still bringing in the audiences.
Anna Dennis as Susanna with the Phoenix Dance Theatre company in rehearsal for Susanna © Tom Arber
5. The power of massed voices
Another advantage of an oratorio – and perhaps the one most appreciated by today’s audiences – is that the music allows for a larger choral presence. While the chorus generally plays only a small part in Handel’s operas, they are central to the oratorios, providing commentary on the action and expressing collective emotion. ‘Righteous heav’n beholds their guile’ in Part 1 of Susanna is a case in point. Directed at the Elders, it sees the chorus warning them that their crimes are known to God and that divine retribution will be swift.
The good news is that it also means anyone attending Susanna will be treated to the massed voices of the Chorus of Opera North throughout, a powerful vocal force which has to be heard to be believed.
Abigail Overmeyer with the Chorus of Opera North in Mozart's Requiem © Richard H Smith
