Opera Review: ‘Samson et Dalila’ at The Metropolitan Opera

Soprano Elina Garanca and tenor Roberto Alagna reunite

Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna in The Metropolitan Opera production of ‘Samson et Dalila.’ Ken Howard / The Metropolitan Opera

NEW YORK—In 2010, The Metropolitan Opera presented a new production of Bizet’s “Carmen” starring Elina Garanca and Roberto Alagna, and the pair created a sensation as the tempestuous couple. For the first production of the 2018–2019 season, they are reunited in “Samson et Dalila,” another French opera about a lovelorn military man falling for a deceitful seductress.

Directed by Darko Tresnjak (who is best known for the Broadway musical “A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder”), with orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder, Saint-Saëns’s opera is not on the same level as Bizet’s, but the two leads still smolder on stage and the kitschy production is quite entertaining.

The Synopsis

The biblical tale takes place in Gaza in 1150 B.C. The Israelites are going through a rough period, on the wrong side of Jehovah and enslaved by the Philistines.  Samson, the hero of the Israelites, appears, advising his people to bless their God. The Satrap (the provincial governor) of Gaza enters, demanding tribute and taunting the oppressed people with the boast that his god (Dagon) is better than theirs. Samson starts a revolt during which he kills the Satrap.