The Winnipeg Baroque Festival continues this week with an uncommon offering from the oratorio output of George Frederic Handel.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Students in the University of Manitoba\u2019s Oratorio Seminar class will share Handel\u2019s 1739 masterwork Saul with audiences at the Desautels Concert Hall on Tuesday to mark the end of a semester studying the genre.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Heightened drama a standout\u00a0<\/p>\n
A composer celebrated for both his operatic and oratorio\u00a0works,\u00a0Handel blends the two together in Saul in a way that makes the work an exciting challenge for the students performing it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was intended to be a staged oratorio.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a dramatic oratorio,\u201d explains\u00a0tenor\u00a0Jack Hanson. \u201cSo, a lot of the music reflects that where there\u2019s a lot of these instrumental sinfonias and interludes that just isn\u2019t in a lot of the other Handel oratorio works.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The drama of Saul will be brought out in engaging ways for the audience, from placing the titular character in a throne in the centre of the stage to using projected images to heighten the setting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mezzo-soprano\u00a0Isabelle Buisson, who sings the role of David in the show,\u00a0notes that\u00a0the costumes will also help to convey the story. \u201cSince there\u2019s so many of us, we all get to split the roles,\u201d she explains. \u201cEvery role has\u00a0a different colour\u00a0that\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0going to wear.\u00a0You\u2019ll\u00a0be able to know who everyone is by what\u00a0everyone\u2019s\u00a0wearing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Juggling\u00a0meaningful\u00a0solos and choruses\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because the solos are split between the\u00a0students\u00a0to ensure that everyone has a moment in the spotlight, singers\u00a0are faced with the unique challenge of switching from choruses to solos in quick succession.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a challenge that Buisson relishes.\u00a0\u201cI really enjoy it, actually,\u201d she says,\u00a0\u201cbeing able to act as David talking to someone like\u00a0Michal… I think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0cool.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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For Hanson, the\u00a0effort that\u00a0the students are putting into telling this story\u00a0of a king slowly descending towards oppressive rule is what will make it resonate with audiences\u00a0nearly three\u00a0centuries after it was first shared. \u201cSaul is the driving, motivating factor in everything that happens in the oratorio, pretty much,\u201d he says, \u201cand I think that that kind of transformation from this very noble and good leader into a very tyrannical and frightening force can be something that can be applied to the world… in a lot of places today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n