page_title: Saul og David
section_title: Composition history
hierarchical_section_title: Saul og David / Composition history
caption_attribution_description: English: Carl Nielsen at the performance of Saul and David in Stockholm, 1931
context_page_description: Saul og 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 the Royal Danish Theatre, 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 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.
context_section_description: 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".
caption: Carl Nielsen at a performance of Saul and David in Stockholm in 1931
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