Samson and Delilah (opera)
opera by Camille Saint-Saëns / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samson and Delilah (Fr: Samson et Dalila) is a three-act French opera. It is based on the story of Samson and Delilah in the Old Testament of the Bible. The words and story of the opera (the libretto) were written by Ferdinand Lemaire. The music was written by Camille Saint-Saëns. The opera was first performed in Weimar, Germany on 2 December 1877. It was sung in German instead of French.[1]
Saint-Saëns thought the Samson story would make a good oratorio. He was persuaded by Lemaire to write an opera on the subject instead. When the opera was completed, Saint-Saëns met some stiff opposition about staging it in France. It was considered sacrilegious to stage a work based on a Bible story. Additionally, Saint-Saëns was considered a "symphonist" rather than an opera composer. People were not interested in Samson. Liszt staged the work in Germany. It was a hit. It was soon staged in America and in England.
Roles in the opera include Samson (tenor), Delilah (mezzo-soprano), and the High Priest of Dagon (baritone). The story tells of the enslavement of the Hebrews by the Philistines. Samson urges them to resist their masters. The High Priest of Dagon uses Delilah to destroy Samson. Musical highlights include "Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix" and "Vois ma misère, hélas!" The opera finally played the Paris Opéra. It ranked second in popularity to Charles Gounod's Faust.