Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater will host the premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns’ most popular opera Samson et Dalila. Premiere performances will be held on February 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 and March 1, 2, 3. This beautiful production of the Monte-Carlo Opera House was staged by the famous French director Jean-Louis Grinda.
“Opera is not only a passion for me, but also a great love,” says Jean-Louis Grinda, who has staged many interesting plays, among them La Traviata, Ernani, Roméo et Juliette, I Pagliacci, Die Fledermaus, Tannhäuser, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Carmen, Mefistofele, Samson et Dalila, Falstaff, Guillaume Tell, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Bohème, Thaïs, Il Turco in Italia , Werther, La Damnation de Faust, and La Gioconda.
The luxurious decorations of “Samson and Delilah,” created by famous Italian artist Agostino Arrivabene, presents an atmosphere of a mysterious temple, while the diverse and precious costumes, eye-catching lighting and light effects by Laurent Castaingt, and choreography by Eugénie Andrin, show us the East in a surreal, fabulous way.
The performance “Samson and Delilah” features the soloists of the Tbilisi Opera House, guest singers, chorus, orchestra and ballet troupe. The stage conductor is Zaza Azmaiparashvili, the conductors are Levan Jagaev and Kakhi Solomnishvili.
“Samson and Delilah” was performed on the stage of the Tbilisi Opera House for the first time in 1894, exactly 130 years ago. Finally, “Samson and Delilah” was performed in Tbilisi Opera Theater 80 years ago (1944).
Camille Saint-Saëns wrote 13 operas, but only one survived in the repertoire of world opera houses. “Samson and Delilah” is based on the story of the Old Testament. Its libretto belongs to Ferdinand Lemaire. “Samson and Delilah” had its premiere in Weimar on December 2, 1877, and its Paris premiere at the Grand Opéra on November 23, 1892. Today, “Samson and Delilah” is one of the most popular operas that does not leave the stages of modern opera houses. Delilah’s part is the favorite and dream part of every mezzo-soprano.
The asteroid discovered in 1905 was named Delilah after the main character of the opera.
By Mariam Mtivlishvili
