 
Heinrich Spängler
Helga Rabl-Stadler
Entführung
Masterpiece
Don Carlo
Samson et Dalila
The concerts
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COMPOSITIONAL MASTERPIECE
Camille Saint-Saëns opera Samson et Dalila
Camille Saint-Saëns was unquestionably one of the most highly regarded and influential personalities in French music in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1846 he was only ten years old when he made his debut in Paris, the city of his birth, and played a programme that included piano concertos by Mozart and Beethoven. When the audience demanded an encore, Saint-Saëns asked the astonished public to choose any one of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas.
Composer, Pianist and Organist
After graduating from the Conservatory with distinction
Saint-Saëns stayed in Paris where he was successful to equal extent
as a composer, pianist and organist. Franz Liszt described him as the
greatest organ virtuoso in the world.
In 1871 Saint-Saëns founded the Société Nationale de
Musique, which, according to its motto Ars Gallica was committed to the
promotion of new French music, and
subsequently saw the performance of works by several important composers,
including César Franck, Fauré, Dukas, Debussy and Ravel.
High regard
Saint-Saëns was also highly regarded outside France, not least in America and Great Britain, where he was considered to be the greatest French composer of his time. He was awarded honorary doctorates by the universities in Oxford and Cambridge and in 1886 the London Philharmonic Society commissioned him to write what is nowadays perhaps his most well-known work, his Symphony No. 3, the so-called ‘Organ’ Symphony. Although Saint-Saëns made important contributions to all musical genres, it can nevertheless be stated that he was less successful with his operas than with his compositions for the concert hall. Of the thirteen operas he wrote, only one, Samson et Dalila, became popular.
Intended as an oratorio
It is interesting to note that Saint-Saëns initially intended
the work as an oratorio and it was his librettist Ferdinand Lemaire who
convinced him that a stage version of the subject was more appropriate.
However, this resulted in problems because there was considerable concern
in French opera houses about the idea
of presenting a biblical subject on stage to entertain the public.
Masterfully composed
Once again it was Liszt who not only encouraged Saint-Saëns to complete the composition but furthermore made the world premiere possible on 2 December 1877 in the Court Theatre in Weimar. However, more than twelve years were to pass before the opera was heard for the first time in France in 1890 in Rouen. Subsequently the masterfully composed and brilliantly orchestrated work with its oriental colour and sumptuous melodies became one of the most important 19th century French operas in the repertoire of many opera houses. Due to the fact that it was originally planned as an oratorio – something that is especially evident in the many choral passages in acts 1 and 3 – Samson et Dalila is, however, excellently suited to be given as a concert performance.
Alexander Odefey
Camille Saint-Saëns
Samson et Dalila
Concert performance
Conductor Valery Gergiev
Chorus master Rupert Huber
Dalila Olga Borodina
Samson Plácido Domingo
High Priest of Dagon Sergej Leiferkus
Abimélech Orlin Anastassov
Old Hebrew Chester Patton
A War Messenger of the Philistines Roberto Iuliano
First Philistine John Nuzzo
Second Philistine Günther Groissböck
Concert Association of the Vienna State Opera Chorus
Mariinsky Kirov Orchestra St. Petersburg
Grosses Festspielhaus
Monday, 11 August 2003
7 p.m.
Tickets are available from the Ticket Office
of the Salzburg Festival in the following categories:
€ 22 / 45 / 65 / 90 / 140 / 210 / 270 / 350
Telephone: 0043 662 8045-500
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