Camille Saint-Saëns: Samson and Delilah

The recasting of the biblical story of the Hebrew hero Samson and his fateful passion for Delilah, a Philistine woman, is French composer Camille Saint-Saëns’s most frequently performed opera. Although the composer apparently sought to show the historic conflict between the two warring peoples from Delilah’s perspective, the opera has continued to be associated with the heroic image of Samson from the Old Testament. In its concert version, we will hear magnificent choral scenes, intense inner tensions between the protagonists and unmistakable lyrical passages.

The performance is conducted by one of the world’s foremost masters of the French repertoire, Charles Dutoit. He will direct the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir and the multiple award winning NFM Choir, which is led by Lionel Sow. The mezzo-soprano role of Delilah is sung by Canadian contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux. Her repertoire extends from the Baroque to Richard Wagner. The role of Samson is sung by Austrian tenor Nikolai Schukoff, renowned for his roles in the operas of Wagner and Richard Strauss. The other soloists are baritone Jean-François Lapointe and bass Jean Teitgen, both frequent interpreters of the French repertoire