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Featured review
Doesn't bring the temple down
It is always very interesting seeing the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD simulcasts at the cinema. Some productions are better than others, with there being so many outstanding productions but also the odd misfire like 2009's 'Tosca' and 'Hansel and Gretel'. But as a lover of opera for goodness knows how long it is great to feel like you are there at the Met (with the intimacy of how it's shot and presented there is a real impact of feeling like you're there) but for much cheaper.
Saint-Saens' 'Samson Et Dalila' is not one of my favourites. It doesn't have the most dramatically compelling of stories, despite being based on one of the most famous Biblical stories, the most dramatic it gets is the final scene with the Act 2 duet close behind. However the music is just lovely, especially Dalila's arias, which are popular mezzo soprano arias to sing in recitals and competition, the end of Act 2 and perhaps the most famous part the Bacchanal. After being very impressed by the 2018-2019 Live in HD opener 'Aida', apart from the Radames, expectations were quite high (also like Elina Garanca a lot) but this production was something of a let down. Not a mess but it could have been so much more, it could have been good but it only left me conflicted.
The best thing about it was the musical values. The orchestra are on top form, their playing is at some points thunderous, at other points seductive and at other points dream-like in its understatement. The chorus are beautifully balanced and sing with comittment, rousing thrills and nuances ("Dieu Dieu D'Israel" being the standout), dramatically they do their best with what they were given (which was pretty static to be honest) but their individuality has shone through in other productions as this was not really a representation of how much they're grown dramatically over the years. Apart from Dalila's arias being conducted too slowly, Mark Elder's conducting is alert to the drama, which provides some musically intense moments, and also sympathetic.
For me, the secondary cast fared better than the leads. Particularly good was a fearsomely intimidating Laurent Naouri, who also sings with sonority. Dmitri Beloosselsky is close behind in a performance of great dignity, while Elchin Azizov sings beautifully and commandingly. Didn't think much of the production values on the whole, but did really like the temple set, the way it was first revealed was one of the more striking moments of the production, and Dalila's costumes which actually looked luxurious.
However, the production values mostly were drab in some places and gaudy in others, and not in an attractive way, with it being more kitsch than glamour. The mirror was pointless here too and seemed like it was only there for spectacle, nothing was ever done with it. Act 1 especially. Found most of the staging ponderous and static with very little intensity or soul with some actions lacking purpose, the chorus are not well served here, and then on the other side of the spectrum there was also the bizarrely choreographed Bacchanal and even more bizarre characterising for the Phillistines. The final scene should have burst with thundering intensity but was disappointingly anti-climactic. While Elder's conducting is mostly fine, his conducting of Dalila's arias, especially "Printemps Qui Commence", was on the funereal side and it took away from the dreaminess and sensuality.
Neither Roberto Alagna and Elina Garanca are at their best. Garanca does fare better with enough impressive moments, she does sound wonderful although underpowered in the first act, her voice not resorting to over-darkening or forcing which could have happened easily for a role that sits quite low in the voice. She also has a lot of nuanced musicality, especially in "Mon Coeur S'Ouevre A Ta Voix". She could have done more dramatically however and made Dalila's motivations much less vague, though that she didn't overplay and become stock and pantomimic is something to be lauded. She came over as a bit tentative in Act 1 and she could have been more sensual and fierce (disappointing seeing as she showed as Carmen she can do both really well), she is a much better actress than this in an uncharacteristically somewhat cold and incomplete-feeling interpretation. Alagna on the other hand looked and sounded taxed, his acting lacks nuance and dimension with neither the lovestruck or wrath-filled elements (especially the latter) properly explored, he looks lost at points too and the more flirtatious elements in Act 1 were robotic. Vocally, one gets the real sense that the role of Samson is too heavy for him from the amount of grain, coarseness and strain there was in particularly Act 3 where he also loses power. Their chemistry should have smouldered but mostly didn't properly ignite.
Overall, disappointing, the temple is not brought down here. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Saint-Saens' 'Samson Et Dalila' is not one of my favourites. It doesn't have the most dramatically compelling of stories, despite being based on one of the most famous Biblical stories, the most dramatic it gets is the final scene with the Act 2 duet close behind. However the music is just lovely, especially Dalila's arias, which are popular mezzo soprano arias to sing in recitals and competition, the end of Act 2 and perhaps the most famous part the Bacchanal. After being very impressed by the 2018-2019 Live in HD opener 'Aida', apart from the Radames, expectations were quite high (also like Elina Garanca a lot) but this production was something of a let down. Not a mess but it could have been so much more, it could have been good but it only left me conflicted.
The best thing about it was the musical values. The orchestra are on top form, their playing is at some points thunderous, at other points seductive and at other points dream-like in its understatement. The chorus are beautifully balanced and sing with comittment, rousing thrills and nuances ("Dieu Dieu D'Israel" being the standout), dramatically they do their best with what they were given (which was pretty static to be honest) but their individuality has shone through in other productions as this was not really a representation of how much they're grown dramatically over the years. Apart from Dalila's arias being conducted too slowly, Mark Elder's conducting is alert to the drama, which provides some musically intense moments, and also sympathetic.
For me, the secondary cast fared better than the leads. Particularly good was a fearsomely intimidating Laurent Naouri, who also sings with sonority. Dmitri Beloosselsky is close behind in a performance of great dignity, while Elchin Azizov sings beautifully and commandingly. Didn't think much of the production values on the whole, but did really like the temple set, the way it was first revealed was one of the more striking moments of the production, and Dalila's costumes which actually looked luxurious.
However, the production values mostly were drab in some places and gaudy in others, and not in an attractive way, with it being more kitsch than glamour. The mirror was pointless here too and seemed like it was only there for spectacle, nothing was ever done with it. Act 1 especially. Found most of the staging ponderous and static with very little intensity or soul with some actions lacking purpose, the chorus are not well served here, and then on the other side of the spectrum there was also the bizarrely choreographed Bacchanal and even more bizarre characterising for the Phillistines. The final scene should have burst with thundering intensity but was disappointingly anti-climactic. While Elder's conducting is mostly fine, his conducting of Dalila's arias, especially "Printemps Qui Commence", was on the funereal side and it took away from the dreaminess and sensuality.
Neither Roberto Alagna and Elina Garanca are at their best. Garanca does fare better with enough impressive moments, she does sound wonderful although underpowered in the first act, her voice not resorting to over-darkening or forcing which could have happened easily for a role that sits quite low in the voice. She also has a lot of nuanced musicality, especially in "Mon Coeur S'Ouevre A Ta Voix". She could have done more dramatically however and made Dalila's motivations much less vague, though that she didn't overplay and become stock and pantomimic is something to be lauded. She came over as a bit tentative in Act 1 and she could have been more sensual and fierce (disappointing seeing as she showed as Carmen she can do both really well), she is a much better actress than this in an uncharacteristically somewhat cold and incomplete-feeling interpretation. Alagna on the other hand looked and sounded taxed, his acting lacks nuance and dimension with neither the lovestruck or wrath-filled elements (especially the latter) properly explored, he looks lost at points too and the more flirtatious elements in Act 1 were robotic. Vocally, one gets the real sense that the role of Samson is too heavy for him from the amount of grain, coarseness and strain there was in particularly Act 3 where he also loses power. Their chemistry should have smouldered but mostly didn't properly ignite.
Overall, disappointing, the temple is not brought down here. 5/10 Bethany Cox
helpful•20
- TheLittleSongbird
- Nov 23, 2018
Details
- Runtime3 hours 20 minutes
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