Organization

State Opera Varna

Mezzo-soprano (+2)

Vikena Kamenica

Delilah

Conductor

Grigor Palikarov

Stage director

Ada Gurra

Albanian National Theatre of Opera and Ballet

Orchestra

Orchestra of the Varna State Opera

Chorus

Choir of the Varna State Opera

Ballet

Ballet of the Varna State Opera

Tenor

Dario Di Vietri

Samson

Baritone (+3)

Svilen Nikolov

High Priest of Dagon

Bass (+3)

Geo Chobanov

Abimelech

Bass-baritone (+2)

Eugeniy Stanimirov

Old Hebrew

Opera at the Summer Theatre

Varna Sea Garden

Artyom Arutyunov

Philistine messenger

Tenor (+1)

Mihail Valchev

First Philistine

Petar Petrov

Second Philistine

One of the three most famous French-language operas, Samson et Delilah was written in the last quarter of the 19th century by composer Camille Saint-Saëns and librettist Ferdinand Lemaitre. The work tells the famous biblical story of Samson - the brave leader of the Jews against the Philistines, seduced by the beauty of Delilah - the priestess of the god Dagon. There is power, passion and betrayal in the plot, and the stage drama and music leave the audience breathless.

The music is extremely rich, with an abundance of affecting melodies, and the characters' characters are strongly psychologically constructed. Delilah's aria "Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" is among the most beautiful in the world mezzo-soprano repertoire. An emblematic excerpt is also the "Bacchanalia" of the third act, depicting the seduction of Samson by Delilah, often also performed as a stand-alone concert piece.

Photos