Opera "Samson and Delilah": content, video, interesting facts, history

K. Saint-Saens opera "Samson and Delilah"

Camille Saint-Saens - the author of 13 operas, some of which were successfully staged on European stages, gaining both instant popularity and equally rapid oblivion. His third opera was the most viable, "Samson and Delilah". But, as is often the case, it took her several decades to find the path to world fame.

Summary of the opera Saint-Saens "Samson and Delilah" and many interesting facts about this work, read on our page.

Short content of "Samson and Dalila"

Palestine, the city of Gaza, biblical times.

Philistines enslaved the Jews. Samson calls for compatriots to resist. The cruel ruler of Abimelech appears, he mocks the Jews, among whom growing indignation. The conflict begins, during which Samson kills Abimelech. Jews rebel. The high priest of Dagon is trying to appeal to the Philistines, but they have lost morale, looking at the powerful and powerful Samson. They take the body of the satrap and run.

Jewish elders thank God for a successful outcome. Philistines appear, among them Delilah. She admires Samson, he understands that the girl's charms are stronger than his will.

Delilah waits at night for Samson, but thinks only of revenge, she is not interested even in the reward offered by the High Priest. When Samson arrives, Delilah confesses his love and discovers the main secret - his incredible strength lies in his hair. While Samson is asleep, Delilah cuts off his hair, and then calls the Philistines, who seize him.

The blinded Samson languishes in prison. It oppresses the Jews to be under the enemy’s yoke again. Samson is brought to the temple of Dagon, where the Philistines, among them Delilah, deride him. In a rage, he asks God to give him strength. Feeling that the prayer is heard, he destroys the temple, burying the enemies and himself under the rubble.

A photo

Interesting Facts

• Eastern music, which permeates the opera, was born under the influence of Algerian culture. Because of his weak lungs, the composer spent many winters in the east - in Algeria and Egypt.
• Samson and Delilah is one of the best examples of French opera on the oriental theme, on a par with Pearl-Seekers by G. Bizet and Lacmett by L. Delibes.

• "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix", which is considered to be the third aria of Dalila, is in fact a duet, and the words that the singer in concerts sing like "Samson, je t'aime" actually belong to Samson singing "Dalila, je t'aime".
• Samson's party is one of Placido Domingo's "business cards."
• The first audio recording of the opera was made in 1904.
• Among other famous works on this plot is an oratorio. Handel Samson and Ramo's opera Samson.
• Opera music is extremely popular in figure skating programs. So, it was used: the Olympic champion of 2018 Alina Zagitova (season 2016/17, short program), the Olympic champions of 2010 in ice dancing M. Davis and C. White (2008/09 season, free skating), two-time world champion Irina Slutskaya (2001/02 season, free skating), world champions of 1996 in pairs skating M. Yeltsov and A. Bushkov (1991/92 season, free skating).

The best numbers from the opera "Samson and Delilah"

"Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" - Dalila's third aria

"Printemps qui commence" - Dalila's first aria

The history of the creation and productions of "Samson and Delilah"

Camille Saint-Saens originally wanted to write an oratorio. And, despite the fact that the librettist convinced him to rework the work into an opera, in many respects Samson and Delilah retained the oratorio style. This is evidenced by the narrative nature of the plot, and a large proportion of choral episodes, and the fact that many important events, such as the arrest of Samson at the end of the second act, take place behind the scenes. Such a clear genre bias is connected with the fact that in the middle of the 19th century Europe experienced a revival of interest in choral music. Saint-Saens highly appreciated the oratorio of Handel and Mendelssohn and decided to create a similar work, based on the libretto by Voltaire "Samson", written for the French classic J.F. Ramo

The history of the opera began in 1867, Ferdinand Lemer was invited by the librettist, the husband of one of the composer’s spouse’s cousins. Saint-Saens has already used his poems for his vocal compositions. The libretto was based on the plot of the 16th chapter of the biblical old Testament "Book of Judges." Initially, the composer wrote the music for the second act - the quintessence of the dramatic relations of the main characters, with his wondrous arias and duets, then - choral scenes. The second act was fully executed at a private amateur party, and the reviews that the composer received from those present were not too complementary. In addition, French society was absolutely not ready to appear on the scene of the sacred heroes of the Bible. To top it off, the war broke out with Prussia, and Saint-Saens went to serve in the National Guard. Due to these circumstances, work on Samson and Delilah was suspended for several years.

In 1872 in Weimar, the composer met with Franz Lisztwho at that time directed the Weimar court opera. Liszt, having learned about the unfinished "Samson and Delil", began to persuade him to finish the opera and immediately offered a production in his theater. Saint-Saens was inspired by this idea and returned to the composition. In 1876, the score was ready. Saint-Saens and Pauline Viardot, which was intended for the main part, arranged several performances of the opera and its excerpts. At these evenings were present, including the heads of theaters, but, alas, no one in France took the opera to execution. Then the composer went to Weimar to put it there. And, although Liszt was no longer the first person of the local theater, he managed to agree that "Samson and Delilah" appeared in the repertoire.

The premiere took place on December 2, 1877 in German and was held with absolute deafening success. The part of Delilah went to the local soloist, Augustine von Muller, and Samson to Franz Ferenczi. Despite the significant resonance in Weimar, in the first years of its existence, the opera almost never sounded. In 1882 it was installed in Hamburg. She returned to her homeland, France, only by 1890 - first to Rouen, and in the fall to Paris, where she was greeted very warmly. Over the next two years, Samson and Dalilou were shown at the theaters of Nantes, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Geneva. Finally, on November 23, 1892, the premiere was held at the Paris Opera, the main musical theater of France. In this production, the Priestess' Dance was first performed, not included in any of the earlier performances. Saint-Saens dedicated this opera to his muse, Pauline Viardot, who by the time of the Parisian premiere had already gone beyond the age of the performance of the part of Dalila. At the same time, the popularity of opera in the world began to grow rapidly. In the 1890s, it was placed in Monaco, USA, Italy, England. The premiere, performed by the Russian opera troupe, took place on November 19, 1896 at the Mariinsky Theater.

In the 20th century, “Samson and Delilah” never for a long time fell out of the world billboard, and Delilah’s party, on a par with Carmen, became the most important in the repertoire of any mezzo-soprano. The soloist of the Mariinsky Theater Olga Borodina became one of her best performers at the turn of the 21st century. Today in the world there are 48 productions of this opera, in 2016 the new performances were presented by the Mariinsky Theater and the Paris Opera. In the season 2018/2019 "Samson and Delilu" announced the Metropolitan Opera.

"Samson and Delilah" on video

You can get acquainted with the opera productions in the best world theaters without leaving your home. DVD released:

• The performance of the Metropolitan Opera with Placido Domingo and Olga Borodina, 1998;
• Covent Garden Performance with John Vickers and Shirley Verrett, 1982;
• San Francisco Opera with Placido Domingo and Shirley Verrett, 1981.

The melodies of the opera sound in the films:

• "Sunstroke", director N. Mikhalkov, 2014;
• "Bridges of Madison County", directed by C. Eastwood, 1995;
• "Mirage", directed by Ж-К. Gige, 1992;
• "Agatha", directed by M. Ubed, 1979.

"Samson and Delilah"- a real find for theaters and performers. The plot allows for different interpretations, temporary postponements and the embodiment of original directorial ideas, and the multidimensionality of characters is free acting interpretation of the motives of their actions. This is the reason that the new productions of this beautiful opera are always very much expected by the public.