MONTE-CARLO OPERA
Mon. 19th November 2018 8:00pm - Sun. 25th November 2018
From the Old Testament to Cecil B. DeMille, the sulphurous love affair between Samson and Delilah have continued to provoke moral condemnations and unavowable feverishness. Could it be a total coincidence that the task of putting to music this biblical fable, with its heady scent, was given to Camille Saint-Saëns? Despite his stage productions having sometimes gone astray, lacking the inspiration without which a masterpiece is impossible, the composer has found the road to success with Samson and Delilah. The eroticism that underlies this episode of the Bible could only fascinate him, and the sacred context offers him an ideal screen to hide his intense sensuality from the world. Beyond the emblematic role of Samson, valiant in every sense of the word, it is to Delilah that the most important music of the piece is given. While the final collapse captivates the spectators and reaffirms the moral dimension of the work, it is nonetheless the caressing phrases uttered by heroine that touch our hearts. Camille Saint-Saëns, a great admirer of the Principality, hid his game well, but now this opera is revealing him to us… to our greatest pleasure.
Monday, November 19th, 2018 – 20:00 (upon invitation from the Palace)
Thursday, November 22nd, 2018 – 20:00
Sunday, November 25th, 2018 – 15:00