Saul og David

Saul og David (Saul and David) is the first of the two operas by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen. The four-act libretto, by Einar Christiansen, tells the Biblical story of Saul's jealousy of the young David, taken from the Book of Samuel. The first performance was at Det Kongelige Teater, Copenhagen on 28 November 1902.

The opera is one of Denmark's most important musical works for the theatre but it is difficult to stage as the really dramatic episodes are often separated by longer, less dynamic sequences. The choral scenes are certainly among the opera's highlights. The music, which is both dramatic and lyrical, is free of any late Romantic effects. This might, however, explain why the work has not gained wider popularity.

The music was composed rather slowly over a period of two years, partly in Copenhagen, partly when Nielsen was in Rome on an extended stay between December 1899 and June 1900. Completed in April 1901, the work was submitted to the Royal Theatre for adjudication. The conductor, Johan Svendsen, recommended the opera should be performed at an early date, alluding to a "highly interesting work, bearing throughout the stamp of an independent gifted artist" who demonstrated "clarity and assurance".

The premiere on 28 November 1902 was received enthusiastically, at least by parts of the audience, as more than one reviewer spoke of continued applause by a group of the composer's friends and supporters. William Behrend from Politiken noted that Nielsen "conducted the performance with great assurance and quite natural zeal" but wondered whether the work would attract as much enthusiasm in future productions. Several other reviewers pointed out that it was hardly an opera in the classic sense but was more like an oratorio with its symphonic treatment, its cool dramatic approach and its large choral pieces.

There were only a few more performances of Saul og David in Copenhagen during Nielsen's lifetime and despite his own efforts to have it performed in Dresden and Vienna, it was not until November 1928 that it was staged abroad in Gothenburg. Nielsen, who conducted the last of the Gothenburg performances, noted in his scrapbook that the reviewers had received it enthusiastically.

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Wikipedia