Excellent revival of Claus Guth's Saul at Theater an der Wien

By George Jahn, 21 April 2021

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“Florian Boesch was a fascinating Saul”

Reviewed at Theater an der Wien, Vienna on 20 April 2021

Handel, Saul

MusikTheater an der Wien

Christopher Moulds, Conductor

Claus Guth, Director

Christian Schmidt, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Bernd Purkrabek, Lighting Designer

Florian Boesch, Saul

Anna Prohaska, Merab

Giulia Semenzato, Michal

Jake Arditti, David

Ru Charlesworth, Jonathan

Andrew Morstein, Abner

David Webb, High Priest

Rafał Tomkiewicz, Witch of Endor

Ramses Sigl, Choreography

Arnold Schoenberg Choir

Freiburg Baroque Orchestra

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****1

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****1

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***11

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****1

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****1

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***11

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George Jahn

George Jahn is the former Vienna bureau chief of The Associated Press. During his 35-year career at the global news organization, he covered wars, politics... and opera, reviewing productions at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Bayreuth Festival and other houses in Austria and Germany. He has also written for Opera Now and International Piano magazines in London. Those he has interviewed include Matthias Goerne, Vesselina Kasarova, Thomas Hampson and Mariss Jansons. George holds or shares awards for his reporting on U.N. affairs and for his coverage of the Bosnian war. A Canadian/Hungarian citizen, he splits his time between residences in Vienna and Budapest.