Influential German poet Barthold Heinrich Brockes reinvented the Passion oratorio tradition, transforming its textures into a much-admired poetic meditation that took hold of the imagination of many German Baroque composers. Of several settings Handel’s is by far the most famous, creating an eloquent and moving score from his friend’s libretto. This acclaimed staged version directed by Walter Sutcliffe extends the vision of the original by asking fundamental questions about the evolution of mankind and its dangerous implications for planet Earth.

Walter Sutcliffe has directed critically acclaimed productions in both theatre and opera, working in the UK, USA, Germany, Austria, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Italy, France and beyond. Sutcliffe took up his position as the artistic director of Oper Halle from the summer of 2021.

This production was much admired in the critical press.

‘In his second premiere and direction in just five weeks – preceded by Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream – Walter Sutcliffe shows more clearly what he is about. He wants clear images – certainly with material effort, but also with content-related statements… Sutcliffe and his team approach these different levels thoughtfully, but not in an uptight manner. Without extroverted portrayals, episodic characters such as Leandro Marziotte as Judas and Jorge Navarro Colorado as Peter alongside the intuitively gripping Jesus by Michael Zehe also gain in contour’ – Die deutsche Bühne

‘Great cheers from the audience after three hours of exciting musical theatre and not a single boo despite an ambitious production in both the religious and political areas. This hasn’t happened at the Halle Opera for a long time… Highly recommended not only for early music lovers!’ – Klassik Begeistert

Cast:
- Evangelist: Robert Sellier
- Daughter of Zion: Vanessa Waldhart
- Believing Soul: Yulia Sokolik
- Believing Soul, Mary: Romelia Lichtenstein
- Jesus: Michael Zehe
- St Peter: Jorge Navarro Colorado
- St John: Franziska Faust
- St James: Christina Mattaj
- Judas, Mercenary: Leandro Marziotte