Saint-Saëns Samson et Dalila had a rather rocky road to start with.  In Paris at the time of its composition (1876) it was considered to be too Wagnerian and more oratorio than opera; both accusations having some merit.  It finally premiered in Weimar in 1877 but it didn’t hit the Paris stage until 1890 and even then it wasn’t at Opéra de Paris.  In some ways it’s odd because essentially all the elements of grand opera are there including plenty of ballet and spectacle and a plot from an approved source!

It’s still not performed that often.  2024 will see three productions world wide; none of them in major houses, and there are only two recordings on video of which the latest, recorded at the Royal Opera House in 2022, is the subject of this review.  Bottom line it’s really rather good.  I don’t think the musical criticism really holds though I can see where it originates.  There are a lot of choruses.  The tenor role has some Wagnerian elements though very French high notes.  Dalila’s music has some elements that flirt with leitmotif.  All that said it really is, essentially a very French grand opera.

The ROH production is by Richard Jones and it isn’t really set anywhere specific (canonically it’s Gaza c.800 BCE).  The Israelites look like Central European Jews c.1930 while the Philistines run the gamut from smart jeans and T shirts to seriously blinged up.  The sets are quite abstract with heavy use being made of a “receding box” as well as movable flats with assorted windows and gantries.  The lighting is vivid.  It also makes really good use of dance (choreographer Lucy Burge).  There are nine male and one female dancer and they are athletic and impressive.  There’s even a proper pas de deux in Act 3.  The chorus do some nifty moving too so the whole thing feels very energetic.  Jones also makes the Philistines; especially the soldiers, a thoroughly unpleasant bunch who delight in kicking away the Old Hebrew’s crutches and would probably torture a kitten if one were handy.  There are some intriguing touches.  For example the god Dagon is presented as a sort of clown with a red nose carrying a fruit machine and a stack of gaming chips and Abimélech appears to have his head gold plated.

The combination of Seokjong Baek, as Samson, and Elena Garanča as Dalila is a felicitous one.  He’s convincing as the tormented Hebrew leader and he sings in the correct grand opera French style; i.e. heroic but with proper high notes.  She’s really interesting.  There always seems to be a touch of ice in Garanča, even when she’s being quite a steamy Carmen, and that works to really good effect here.  In Act 1 she’s seductive but with a touch of unattainability.  It’s like she’s saying to Samson “take me if you dare”.  It also works really well in Act 2 where she gets the fabulous aria “Amour! viens aider ma faiblesse” and then shortly afterwards the famous duet “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” where her insincerity is chilling.  There’s also a strong performance from Lukasz Golinski as the High Priest of Dagon and effective cameos from Goderdze Janelidze as the Old Hebrew and Blaise Malaba as Abimélech.

The chorus has a lot to do here both in terms of singing; as much as in your average oratorio, and movement; lots of it.  They do very well.  Antonio Pappano conducts and I think this is in his sweet spot; high Romantic blood and guts, and the ROH orchestra always seem to turn it on for him in that kind of rep.

It’s very well filmed by Peter Jones backed up by really good video and audio (stereo and DTS-HD-MA).  I think I’d started to forget how good, visually, a well made Blu-ray disk is.  The booklet is vestigial but there are a couple of extras with Pappano going over the plot and also drawing out the music’s structure; especially its affinity with the Bach Passions.  They are worth watching.  Subtitle options are English, French, German, Japanese and Korean.

This is the only Blu-ray recording of Samson and Dalila and it’s a good one.  It’s particularly interesting to hear the couple of well known arias one often hears in recital in, somewhat unexpected, context.

Catalogue information: Opus Arte Blu-ray OABD7315BD