Composed at white-heat in the summer of 1739, and a triumphant comeback for Handel after months of poor health, Saul was the longest, largest, most powerfully theatrical English stage work to date. The story of the Israelites鈥� quest for a king includes the tales of Goliath, the Witch of Endor, and the passionate relationship of David and Jonathan, leavened with murderous jealousy, terrible pathos and tragic greatness 鈥� all illuminated by Handel鈥檚 finest music.