![George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/George_Frideric_Handel_by_Balthasar_Denner.jpg)
''Susanna'' (
HWV 66) is an
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
by
George Frideric Handel, in English. The
libretto had been questionably attributed to
Newburgh Hamilton
Newburgh Hamilton (1691–1761) was an Irish author and librettist.
He was born in County Tyrone, Ireland (now Northern Ireland) and entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1708, aged sixteen, but (as was common in those days) he left without obtai ...
but is now thought to have been penned by the poet/playwright
Moses Mendes
Moses Mendez, or Mendes, (1690? - 4 February 1758), was a British poet and playwright. It has been suggested that he wrote the anonymous texts for Handel's dramatic English oratorios " Solomon" and " Susanna".
Life and career
Moses Mendez was bor ...
(d.1758).
[Andrew Pink.]
‘Solomon, Susanna and Moses : locating Handel's anonymous librettist’. ''Eighteenth Century Music''. Volume 12 / Issue 02 (September 2015) pp. 211-222.
accessed 6 April 2016 The story is based on that of
Susanna in chapter 13 of the
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology ...
in the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
. Handel composed the music in the summer of 1748 and premiered the work the next season at
Covent Garden theatre, London, on 10 February 1749.
The thirteenth chapter of the book of Daniel, considered
apocryphal in
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
tradition, tells how, during the
captivity of the Jews in
Babylon, a virtuous young woman was falsely accused of sexual promiscuity by two elders of the community who lusted after her themselves. The prophet
Daniel exposed the two elders as liars and vindicated Susanna.
Dramatis personae
Synopsis
Act 1
The Israelites, in chorus, lament their captivity. Susanna and her husband Joacim sing of their happiness in marriage and Susanna's father of his pride in having such a model wife as his daughter. Joacim must leave town for some days and husband and wife bid farewell. Two elders of the community, both filled with lust for the beautiful Susanna, plan to force themselves upon her during her husband's absence. The chorus comments that such wickedness will call down heaven's anger.
Act 2
Joacim, apart from his wife, sings of how much he misses her. Susanna, meanwhile, suffering from the hot weather, also misses her husband, and seeks relief from the sun by bathing in a stream in her garden. She is watched by the two elders whose advances she indignantly repulses. They take revenge by announcing to the community that they have caught Susanna having illicit sex with a young man and order her trial for adultery. Joacim is distressed to be informed of this by letter and returns home.
Act 3
Susanna is found guilty and condemned to death. The First Elder pretends to be greatly distressed by this outcome. The very youthful prophet Daniel, little more than a boy, steps forward from the crowd and demands to be allowed to question the two Elders separately. They give conflicting stories of where they caught Susanna in illicit sex and Daniel denounces them as liars. The Elders are sentenced to execution, Susanna is re-united with her loving husband, and all praise Susanna's virtue and chastity.
Background and composition
![Susanna and the Elders (1610), Artemisia Gentileschi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Susanna_and_the_Elders_%281610%29%2C_Artemisia_Gentileschi.jpg)
After a series of patriotic English oratorios celebrating victory in the
Jacobite rebellions, including
Judas Maccabaeus and
Joshua
Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
, Handel turned to a lighter operatic style with Susanna. The oratorio is scored for a small orchestra of strings with oboes and bassoons, with trumpets appearing in the music only in the celebrations at the end of the work. Some of the solo vocal pieces are in the simple style of popular English
ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Singspiel'', its dist ...
. There are touches of comedy in Handel's musical characterisations of the lecherous Elders, while the steadfastness, purity and courage of the heroine Susanna are vividly portrayed. The aria "Crystal streams", sung by Susanna while she longs for her absent husband and seeks relief from the summer heat by bathing in a garden stream, is particularly notable. The powerful choruses in the work serve as a commentary on the action.
Recordings
References
External links
Score on IMSLP* Ful
score and libretto(ed.
Friedrich Chrysander
Karl Franz Friedrich Chrysander (8 July 1826 – 3 September 1901) was a German music historian, critic and publisher, whose edition of the works of George Frideric Handel and authoritative writings on many other composers established him as a ...
, Leipzig, 1858) - German language site; libretto is the original English, with additional German translation.
Score and parts(ed.
Nicholas McGegan
James Nicholas McGegan OBE (born 14 January 1950 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England) is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert.
Biography
McGegan received his early education at Nottingham High School. He sub ...
et al.) at the
Center for Computer Assisted Research in the Humanities
Stanford University has many centers and institutes dedicated to the study of various specific topics. These centers and institutes may be within a department, within a school but across departments, an independent laboratory, institute or center ...
at Stanford University
* Complet
librettohosted by
Stanford University.
{{Authority control
Oratorios by George Frideric Handel
1748 compositions
Oratorios based on the Bible