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Buxton Festival 2008 (2): Handel, ‘Samson’ (1743) – a dramatic oratorio in three acts. Best/Bottone/Pont Davies/Randle/Smythe/Thomas. Buxton Festival Chorus The Orchestra of The Sixteen/ Harry Christophers 16.7.2008 (RJW)


There is a belief that oratorio does not readily convert from concert hall to stage and  a question often asked why any company would wish to do this, knowing that staging costs hike  up ticket prices. It often happens however. In  2004 a similar translation was attempted at Buxton, and long before that the Carl Rosa Opera Company presented Sullivan’s The Martyr of Antioch very successfully around 1898.  In his informative Festival brochure essay Anthony Arblaster also reminds us that Samson was staged in the 1950s and 80s, the former with a young Joan Sutherland. But though ‘Handel was essentially a man of the theatre’ I don’t necessarily believe that he turned to composing oratorio when he couldn’t get his operas staged in London. Instead, might it simply be more likely that the shallow detail of an oratorio ‘plot’ offers too little to grip on to for an essentially visual  presentation of a biblical story?

Nevertheless, it is a brave director who mounts such a production. One has to present something appealing to look at and with plenty of action to occupy the mind. In the Buxton Festival version of Samson, Daniel Slater’s production brings the subject right up to date by associating the Gaza of the Old Testament with the Gaza Strip problems of today where the Israelis and Palestinians are at war with each other. The conflict exposed in the plot brings equal conflict in matching period music to modern dress.

A stark set with realistically presented three-dimensional prison cell set against a bland concrete wall provides the setting for all acts. An effective opening of Samson being tortured in his cuboid cell is cleverly achieved by silhouetted shadow seen through semi-translucent walls. These walls then open to form wings and reveal Samson, now blinded.  Tom Randle's portrayal of Samson is full of dramatic tension: he absorbs himself totally in the role in a sterling performance and firmly held the audience’s attention.

The difficulty of introducing a choir as a chorus of lost spirits and souls is neatly handled, though often their appearance in shabby dusty coats with the occasional peeked cap reminded me more of the Russian Steppes than a Mediterranean coast.

The music was well handled by conductor, Harry Christophers, who had thoroughly prepared himself and clearly knew the work inside out.  Orchestral sections blended with sensitivity yet once or twice the stage voices didn’t always punch through their accompaniment as strongly as one might like. Of the singing, Tom Randle and Russell Smythe as his father, Manoah, were outstanding with superbly resonant timbre and firmly held the focus of action. Handel’s Dalila is not given the powerful and bitter personality I imagined Milton’s book might have offered and Rebecca Bottone, a light soprano, had little to latch on to within the role apart from the brief and tender love scene that she plays out with Randle which was done very sensuously. The Festival chorus were excellent throughout, singing with gusto, and provided a strength of backing that could easily have been expected from a larger choir.

To enhance visual impact, a projected chronology of changing Mediterranean figures and a silent sequence of film was effective yet was marred by a poor computer ‘frame refresh rate’ which gave jerky pans. John Bishop had a difficult job to light such a sparsely filled stage, but even so he managed to  indicate the hot climate (with good masking) effectively on the one hand and chilly nights for the lost souls on the other. The Act III words give a director no help for interpretation, but I feel that the actions worked well. I did wonder, however, if at the point when Samson dies, (“The angel of thy birth stand by thy side: To fame immortal go…”) a stream of ‘radiant celestial light’ might not have poured down on him. Wearing a ‘lost souls’ coat too, seemed particularly low key for the impact provided by one of the bibles important judges.

The fact that Handel wrote 42 operas does make me wonder if another oratorio should have been given first choice by the Buxton committee. Perhaps it is time to turn to other composers who have had an impact on Britain instead. This year happens to be the bi-centenary of Michael William Balfe, of Bohemian Girl fame. He wrote 28 operas with high class melody and orchestration. It seems sad that we pass over British composers who are 19^th Century and always look to the continent for music of this era. Let’s hope in 2012, both Buxton and Wexford will celebrate William Vincent Wallace (of Maritana fame), who deserves to be remembered and celebrated.

Raymond J Walker

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