The festival will close with a semi-staged performance of Handel's Samson. Based on John Milton's tragedy and the Old Testament's Book of Judges, the title character is found in captivity after Dalila depletes his strength by cutting his hair. Handel's masterpiece utilizes metaphors of light and besieging darkness to achieve a gripping re-telling of this famous story. John Irving leads a cast of James Reese, Megan Pachecano, Tim Parsons, and Dan Moore alongside the Ad Astra Chamber Choir and Festival Orchestra.