The Victoria Philharmonic Choir is creating a stir with its version of Handel's Samson oratorio.

The choir's version of the classic story turns the Biblical tale on its head by portraying Samson as a suicide bomber in 1946 Jerusalem.

The change is the idea of artistic director Simon Capet, who told CBC Radio he wants to "get people talking about music."

The oratorio has the familiar music written in 1741 by George Frideric Handel with the same words, but the time and setting have been changed.

Capet said he grew up in IRA-era Britain and lost college acquaintances on Pan Am 103, which was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.

He said he was struck by the pervasiveness of these violent acts throughout history.

"Why do we repeat the same mistakes over again?" he wondered.

Samson is an examination of a political and personal struggle, but updated to make it more relevant to modern audiences by drawing parallels with ongoing conflict in the Middle East, he said.

"Samson could be any 'freedom fighter'," Capet said.

The biblical story tells of a man with superhuman strength, who is caught by his enemies in a moment of weakness over the woman Delilah.

He is chained in the temple by the Philistines and forced to witness a sacreligious act. He pulls down the temple, killing himself and thousands of others in the process.

Capet has moved the story to 1946 Palestine, when ultra-Zionist bombers were battling the British on land that would later become Israel.

In this version, Samson doesn't pull down a temple, but does bomb the King David Hotel, an actual attack by militant Zionists that took place in 1946.

Reaction to the change has been mixed.

"Some say I'm brave, some say I'm anti-Israel or whatever, but that is OK," Capet said. "The point is to get discussion going."

Some members of the 80-strong choir are approachng their public performance next week with trepidation.

Tenor Ken Lavigne, who will portray Samson, admits he knows some people won't like the interpretation.

The Victoria Philharmonic Choir's presentation of Handel's Samson runs April 5, 7 and 8 at the McPherson Playhouse.