Samson had kind by the point he fell for Delilah. The long-haired Israelite warrior had already transgressed with a lady within the subsequent village, and slept with a harlot. Delilah the Philistine was his undoing. This archetypal story of a hero with a deadly flaw has impressed work and movies however just one well-known opera, by Camille Saint-Saëns. His Samson et Dalila (1877), a French spectacle on a grand scale, was final staged at Covent Backyard in 2004. The work is praised because the composer’s masterpiece, and in the identical breath derided for its sacred-profane sensuality. Anybody tending in the direction of the second opinion, which till final week included me, ought to get to the Royal Opera Home at velocity.
Covent Backyard’s new manufacturing, carried out by Antonio Pappano, directed by Richard Jones and designed by Hyemi Shin, with lighting by Andreas Fuchs, presents the work with rigour and restraint, in addition to the anticipated ardour. It exposes, with thrilling element, the qualities of this piece. Musically the efficiency is a revelation, the Royal Opera orchestra on hearth. These gamers not often sound lower than good, however every so often they attain a distinct degree of prowess. This was one. Pappano’s love of the rating communicated itself each to them and thru them.
Within the South Korean tenor SeokJong Baek (changing Nicky Spence, who withdrew earlier within the yr after an harm), the Royal Opera has discovered a brand new expertise, making his firm and position debut as Samson. He has pinging prime notes and no weak elements to the voice; he can even sing properly in French, arguably the toughest operatic language for any non-native speaker. The Latvian Elīna Garanča is a seasoned Dalila (that is her fourth manufacturing), however she has no scarcity of vocal attract and all the new, frisky physicality required for this well-known mezzo-soprano position.
Refrain and the remainder of the small forged, with Łukasz Goliński (Excessive Priest) and Goderdzi Janelidze (Rabbi) every giving sterling performances, shone. The work begins like an oratorio (following within the footsteps of Handel’s Samson), with fugue and chant and solemnity. Act 2 is an all-out voluptuous love scene for the title characters, whereas the final act turns to operatic excessive drama. The shorn and blinded Samson seeks redemption whereas the Philistines, partying for his or her lives, have fun their idol, Dagon.
In Hyemi’s design, which makes use of moveable constructions to counsel private and non-private areas, Dagon is depicted as an enormous cartoon determine, brandishing money until in a single hand and poker chips within the different. Each visible element is meticulous, from the feel of the corrugated wall or Dalila’s home to the wood-grained inside of the Philistines’ quarters, to the rafters of the quasi-temple. As ever, Jones concentrates on character and motives. All is crystal clear, together with Dalila’s sudden rejection of Samson.
It is a problem for the refrain, who must swap musical kinds a number of instances, and should additionally dance (choreography by Lucy Burge, costumes Nicky Gillibrand): a contact of Busby Berkeley, a contact of Latin, impressively drilled. On the finish, as they bask in bacchanalian revels, they're abruptly parted by an exterior pressure: Samson, his energy renewed. Up by means of the group he climbs, constructing his personal stairway to paradise, earlier than destroying the temple and all inside. It’s a grand finale to an excellent present. I can’t assume why I ever had an issue with this piece.
The Norwegian star Lise Davidsen used to assume she was a mezzo-soprano who was good at baroque music. Her voice trainer stated no, she was a soprano who ought to practice in romantic opera, a medium she scarcely knew. Now in her mid-30s, she is in world demand – particularly in German repertoire, Wagner and Richard Strauss – with the nice Italian roles forward of her. She has would possibly and quantity in addition to ringing purity, with brilliance on the prime but in addition the golden decrease tones of the mezzo she as soon as was. It is a uncommon voice kind certainly.
The tenor Freddie De Tommaso, 29, was born in Tunbridge Wells to an English mom and an Italian father, and has absorbed the sound of Puccini, Verdi and Neapolitan track since start. He sings it with the pure idiom, the slight chunk within the ornaments, the gleam, that this music requires. Like Davidsen, he moved upwards, having began as a baritone. And like Davidsen, he's described as “a voice of the long run”, although they're each already voices of now and may pack the Barbican accordingly.
The pair sang a different recital with the versatile pianist James Baillieu conjuring the total orchestral sounds of Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Giordano, Tosti and Loewe. Every confirmed off their formidable prime notes – who doesn’t love a prime C – however these two singers are but extra persuasive in lyricism, and storytelling from the guts. Their duet from Léhar’s The Merry Widow (Lippen Schweigen), De Tommaso shyly taking Davidsen’s hand, the pair then bravely if tentatively waltzing, introduced the home down. No assist from Samson required.
Star rankings (out of 5)
Samson et Dalila ★★★★
Lise Davidsen and Freddie De Tommaso with James Baillieu ★★★★
Samson et Dalila is on the Royal Opera Home, London, till 19 June
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