Handel’s Samson

Join us for Handel’s mighty oratorio about the Bible’s original muscle man. With rousing choruses, and exquisite arias, the Symphony Chorus, brilliant soloists and a full orchestra combine to bring the theatre into the concert hall.

Handel’s Samson

Like his Messiah, Handel’s oratorio Samson is Biblical drama at its very best – vividly imagined music composed with the finest actor-singers in mind, an opera in all but name.

Handel plunges into the action: we meet Samson, already shorn and blinded, living in a “total eclipse”, a broken prisoner of the Philistines. The music traces a psychological drama that ends with the destruction of the temple and the hero’s ultimate redemption. This great but all-too-rarely performed oratorio shows Handel’s gift for musical characterisation with rousing choruses for devout Israelites and decadent Philistines, and exquisite arias, ranging from Dalila’s alluring music to the rejoicing sounds of “Let the bright Seraphim”, the much-loved highlight.

For Samson, Symphony Chorus, some of our favourite soloists and a massive orchestra (by baroque standards) will unite under the baton of Brett Weymark. Join us to hear the Handel we all love: brilliant, heroic and triumphant!

Program
George Frideric HANDEL Samson

Artists
Brett Weymark conductor
Alexander Lewis tenor (Samson)
Celeste Lazarenko soprano (Israelite Woman, Dalila)
Russell Harcourt countertenor (Micah)
Christopher Richardson bass baritone (Manoa)
Andrew O’Connor bass (Harapha)
Symphony Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

Presented by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs