Composer: George Frideric Handel
Conductor: Johanna Soller
Director: Olivia Fuchs
Handel wrote Susanna as an oratorio, with no stage action. Opera North, in association with Phoenix Dance Theatre, therefore had to manufacture much of the action – and Marcus Jarrell Willis’ choreography meshed perfectly with Olivia Fuchs’ direction. In particular, the four dancers who represented Susanna in association with Anna Dennis, added depth to her character which, in the original oratorio, is never fully developed. Another bonus came in the remarkable performance of Tianah Hodding, officially a BSL performer, but adding much more in on-the-sidelines encouragement and comment.
Susanna is the story of Susanna and the Elders, proving that the Bible got there first in stories to illustrate the lust and misogyny of men in power – always a contemporary tale, in 2025 no less than in 1749 when Handel wrote it. Susanna is joyously married to Joacim, but he is summoned away on business. Susanna takes a bath to relieve the heat of the day, but two elders, pillars of the community, are watching her and attempt to force themselves on her. She resists; they accuse her of betraying her husband with a young man who has conveniently disappeared; she is sentenced to death for adultery. Ultimately young Daniel speaks up for her and, interrogating the Elders individually, proves her innocence by one question – what was the tree she was under with her lover? If it was always that easy…
The opening act and a half (of three) are not Handel at his most inspired and baroque specialist Johanna Soller, whilst obtaining stylish playing from the orchestra, is inclined to take arias at a leisurely tempo. Things burst into life with a glorious fugal chorus at the end of Act 1, and “Crystal streams” in Act 2, with an accompaniment reminiscent of the Nightingales Chorus in Solomon, could have been written by no one except Handel.
Fuchs, immensely skilled at manoeuvring vast forces on stage and integrating the choreography, found difficulty in positioning her singers (too often upstage, with resultant loss of power) and never quite worked out how comic the Elders should be.
As Susanna Anna Dennis was superb. One of a handful not clad in shades of black, brown and grey (or smart suits for the named male characters), she looked stunning in her gradually degraded wedding dress and sang with pitch-perfect control throughout. Interestingly, for a large portion of Act 3, the action moves on without her (no problem in an oratorio) and she held a mask of bitter resignation. Her integration with the dancers throughout was exceptional
James Hall (Joacim) complemented her nicely and Matthew Brook (Chelsias, her father) and Colin Judson and Karl Huml (the Elders) sang capably, but the part that had real impact, as no doubt Handel intended, was Daniel, here sung by a woman, Claire Lees. She brought authority, combined with compassion, to the role, as well as a burst of colour (mainly green) in a costume that reminded one of Felicity Kendal in The Good Life!
The mighty choruses one looks for in Handel’s oratorios were magnificently delivered, the last two finally utilising the trumpets which, with oboes, bassoon and continuo, were added to the orchestral strings.
Runs until 22nd October 2025, before touring
