St. Paul (oratorio)

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Paulus (in English St. Paul) is the title of an oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. The libretto was written by Julius Schubring. The oratorio, which is in two parts, begins with the martyrdom of St. Stephen and narrates various incidents from St. Paul's life.

'St. Paul' was premiered on May 22, 1836 at the Lower Rhine Music Festival in Dusseldorf. Numerous performances followed in Europe and later in the United States. The English premiere was in Liverpool in October 1836.

'St. Paul' was premiered in Memphis, Tennessee for the first time in the spring of 2007 (since the city's founding in 1809). It was premiered by the Rhodes College Singers and accompanied by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. It was performed in the Canon Centre for the Performing Arts.