Classical Music | Mezzo-Soprano

Recorded on 02/04/2012, uploaded on 02/04/2012

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Camille Saint-Saëns only opera to gain recognition on the operatic stage, Samson and Delilah was composed over a lengthy period between 1867 and 1876. He began work on the opera just two years after his still as-of-yet unperformed first opera, Le timbre d’argent, approaching Ferdinand Lemaire, husband of one of his wife’s cousins, to craft a libretto on the Biblical story. Saint-Saëns’s original intent, spurred by a renewed interest in choral music and a personal admiration for the works of Handel and Mendelssohn, was to compose an oratorio. Lemaire, however, convinced Saint-Saëns to give the story an operatic treatment, and once the libretto was finished, Saint-Saëns set to work with great enthusiasm on Act II. Though he had yet to complete the orchestration, Saint-Saëns presented a completed second act in a private performance in 1870, just prior to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. The audience, however, reacted negatively to the composer’s efforts and was appalled by his intentional staging of a Biblical subject. With such an alarming reaction, Saint-Saëns abandoned work on the opera.

Two years later, while at Weimar attending a production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Saint-Saëns was persuaded by the former music director of the court orchestra, Franz Liszt, to complete Samson and Delilah. Liszt even offered to stage the work at the Weimar opera house. Saint-Saëns immediately picked up work again on the opera and in 1875 presented Act I in similar manner as he had done with Act II. In five years, public sentiment had not changed. Despite another discouraging performance, Saint-Saëns completed the score the following year.

With the continual support of Franz Liszt, Samson and Delilah was staged in Weimar on December 2, 1877, a decade after Saint-Saëns had begun the opera. The premiere was a great success for the composer with both critics and audience. Yet, despite the enthusiastic reception, Samson and Delilah failed to immediately secure a place in the repertoire. Two more decades would pass before it would was successfully staged at other opera houses. In 1892, its premiere at the Paris Opéra was met with praise.

A well-known aria from the work, though perhaps not quite as popular as “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” (“My heart opens itself to your voice”), is “Printemps qui commence” sung by Delilah to close Act I. Samson has successfully led his fellow Hebrews in a uprising against their Philistine overlords. Angered by their sudden rebellion, the High Priest of Dagon unveils his plot to uses Delilah’s beauty to discover the reason for Samson’s supernatural strength. After performing an alluring dance with the temple priestesses, Delilah begins her aria. She sings of Spring; its burgeoning life, and the hope it brings of love. Yet, she admits that in vain she adorns herself in expectation of love and pledges her heart to the man that will find her at her nearby dwelling, a temptation directly aimed at Samson. The music of Delilah’s aria is just as convincing as her deceptions. In a lush E major, her dolce melody unfolds over a sustain accompaniment as she sings of the birds and flowers about her. When she turns to speak of her own heart and her false desire for Samson, the music becomes enlivened and convincingly passionate. In the midst of Delilah’s aria, an old Hebrew warns Samson of her treachery. However, his warning goes unheeded, and the act closes with Samson staring intently into Delilah’s eyes.     JosephDuBose

Istituto Europeo di Musica. Programmazione del Sabato e della domenica. Nell'Antica Idea della filodiffusione di musica classica.

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Camille Saint-Saëns, Printemps qui commence From "Samson and Delilah"

(Liv Rec. Paris April 1961)