Finding Hercules
Hero Unstrung
London Handel Festival – Tales of Apollo and Hercules
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It was a pleasure to perform the role of Hercules in The Choice of Hercules at this year’s London Handel Festival. Directed by Thomas Guthrie and staged at Shoreditch Town Hall, this “Mythical Double Bill” paired Apollo e Dafne with Hercules, combining music, dance and puppetry in a beautifully imagined production.
Throughout the performance, I sang while operating a life-sized puppet of Hercules — a physical and emotional double that shaped how I approached the role. Alongside two wonderful puppeteers, we worked in sync to animate Hercules’s inner world: his hesitations, longings, and the pull between glory and virtue.
Several critics picked up on this dual embodiment, and I’m grateful it resonated. For me, it offered a rare kind of intimacy — to give breath to a figure of myth, and feel him breathe back through the music.
Here are a few responses I was especially touched by:
“James Hall blazed his own brilliant path as Hercules with his cut-glass countertenor… a rare oasis of calm where the music could shine through.”
— The Times
“I will never forget countertenor James Hall’s beautiful delivery of Hercules’s vocal lines while manipulating his alter ego puppet.”
— Seen & Heard International
“…a voice of exceptional quality – a joy to hear as Hercules.”
— The Stage
“It is James Hall’s Hercules that stands out, with his sensitive countertenor drawing us in to such an extent that time seems to stand still.”
— musicOMH
“James Hall is utterly captivating, conveying through vivid stripes of sound the sense of being torn in half by the decision he must make.”
— The Arts Desk
“Hall is the highlight for me — what a lovely voice.”
— British Theatre Guide
“Note-perfect throughout.”
— LondonTheatre1
“Hall’s eloquent and delicate countertenor makes for an understated but moving Hercules, giving us the naive lack of assurance of a youth.”
— Bachtrack
“The laurels went to the supple, burgundy-toned Hall, whose generous alto nailed the show’s big hit, Yet Can I Hear That Dulcet Lay.”
— The Guardian
“sung by countertenor James Hall, who is possessed of the most appealing voice… sang with a perfect sense of style. His crucial air, ‘Where shall I go?’ was gripping…”
— Opera Today
Thank you to everyone who came, watched, wrote and supported. It was a myth worth living.