Alternative Views of Bathsheba in the David and Bathsheba Story

Review of the previous post

The previous post, post number 3 of 23, 23 provides a short summary of the story as it will be discussed in this series of posts so the reader and the author of these posts will be viewing the same story.

Preview of the next post

This post, post number 4 of 23, discusses how the Biblical story of David and Bathsheba could be translated into a modern work.

This story of David and Bathsheba could be a modern story

This story would make a fabulous opera. It has all the elements: a tragic heroine; an overbearing villain (who, of course would be a baritone or a bass) who has great power and abuses it to get what he wants, including the heroine (who, of course would be the soprano) and who is ultimately found out and severely punished and brought low and repents and atones; violence, sex, rape, cover-ups; vengeance (Devine and human); duplicity; double-crossings; political intrigue; murder; fratricide, incest, coups; secret plots and wars, all elements of a great opera. The British composer David Barlow did, in 1969, write an opera based on the David and Bathsheba story; however, a composer such as Puccini or Verdi would do better. It could also make a great movie (although a 1951 movie starring Gregory Peck as David, Susan Haywood as Bathsheba and Raymond Massey as Nathan made a pass at it). About the only thing this does not have is a hair-raising car chase. The overall story of David could be a good television mini-series (in the nature of “The Tudors”): David/Saul; David/Jonathan; David/Michal; David as a leader of a gang of malcontents; David as a Philistine vassal; David/Goliath; David/Abagail; David/God; David/Bathsheba; David/Absolom; David and his other children; David as a ruler; there can even be a subplot involving Nathan and Bathsheba and their machinations, including those involving Solomon being named successor, etc. There are as many stories concerning David as there are concerning King Arthur. David can be a scamp, a rogue, a king, an idol, a hero, a paragon, a Machiavelli, a tyrant. What a gold mine of characters, situations and plots.

Preview of the next post

The next post, post number 5 of 23, discusses how David did not act like a good commander.