Customer Reviews

Saint-Saëns - Samson & Dalila / Cura, Borodina, Lafont, Lloyd, Silins, Sir Colin Davis

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Jose Cura's powerfully portrayed, many-hued Samson has pushed this opera back up to a high rank among my favorites. Yes, folks, you indeed could hear his softer passages in Turin and Washington just like they're sung here. Olga Borodina's performance is lush, if one-dimensional--such a gorgeous voice! The other singers and the chorus are fine, the orchestra under Sir Colin Davis bright and crisp. But just Cura alone is worth the price of the set.

Miss Borodina not only possesses a lush voice, but fulfills the dramatic requirement of convincing Samson of her sincerity, while of course being his political enemy and betrayer. Mr. Cura is able to convey with his voice alone the many sides of Samson: hero and leader, lover, wounded soul, and strong in his faith at the end. So, until there's a video to review, these leads offer an exicitng audio portrayal.

Many of the recordings of Samson have been made with weak orchestra backing. Finally Sir Colin has given us the proper recording this great work deserves. Song Thirteen on disk two is perfection. As well as being one of the greatest instrumental parts ever written. Jose's voice is splendid.

I prefer Cura's Samson to Domingo's Samson. I think that Cura's recorded Samson has a more beautiful voice than Domingo's. Sir Colin Davis shows himself the top exponent of Samson today. his conducting has improved tremendously over the previous set. And Borodina must have the most beautiful Mezzo voice since Christa Ludwig. What a pity that this set is going out of print. I wouldn't miss this chance if I were you.

I guess I consider Camille Saint-Saens Biblical work to be one of my favorite opera's. Perhaps because it was the first opera I was exposed to as a 6th grader when I first saw it in Binghamton, New York's Tri-Cities Opera. It was this exposure that opened the world of opera up to me, and this was the seedling. It is with great esteem that I rate the wonderful recording done by Sir Colin Davis with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and the recording opens with powerful and moving music written particularly for a big chorus and orchestra. In fact, "Samson" was originally written as an orotario, and the large "cathedral" style music is what overwhelmes the listener. It is the moving chorus of the Hebrews in bondage that sets the tone for the music that follows. Jose Cura delivers with utter masculinity the vocal portrayal of "Samson", yet is able to soften throughout this score as required to meet the demands of a love that is torturing him in his relationship with the Philistine priestess "Dalila". He is pulled by both his political duty to the Hebrews and his obsessive attraction to his enemy's temptress Dalila. Olga Borodina sings the mezzo-soprano role with conviction and definitely means to break down Samson. Her only weakness in the score is the percieved inability in her vocal interpretation to convey any true feelings of the love that she is so trying to convince him of. Three particular parts of the score are noteworthy of mention, one being the opening chorus and orchestra, "Dieu! Dieu d'Israel! Ecoute la priere", second, Dalila's aria in Act II, "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" and lastly, Samson's quietly desperate "Vois ma misere, helas! vois ma detresse!" of Act III. I highly recommend this newest recording of "Samson et Dalila" to be added to your collection. It is wonderfully done and only mirrors the early recordings done by Jon Vickers and Rita Gorr, not to mention the recording done by Jose Carreras and Agnes Baltsa. Please take time to listen to this beautifully done interpretation by one of the greatest French classical composers.

I never thought I could here a more moving rendition of Samson,s desparate cry for help (third act) than Jon Vickers'. Jose Cura's eclipses even that. Cura obviously understands every word he sings and knows how to "act" it. Stupendous! P.S. It's not that I'm 13 but the box doesn't go above.

This must be the best thing Cura has done on disc. If you need convincing, listen to the heart-breaking intensity and pathos of his soft singing over the pulsing orchestral accompaniment, simulating the treadmill to which the blinded Samson is chained, in "Vois ma misère, hélas!" at the beginning of Act III: sublime. He has reserves of power, too, for the more declamatory sections and there is none of the patchiness which at times has affected his singing. Borodina has a luscious mezzo voice, and while she cannot muster the erotic intensity of Callas or the Gallic frisson and clarity with the text of Hélène Bouvier in the classic 1946 recording, she has stage experience and enough temperament to carry it off. Colin Davis treats this scorned, carefully wrought, music with respect and brings to it the same energy he evinces in his Berlioz recordings, such that the variety and passion of the supposedly cool Saint-Saens' score have every chance to make their mark. There are some wonderful set pieces in this opera, both orchestral (the famous "Bacchanale", for example) and vocal - my favourite being the trio "Je viens célébrer la victoire", immortalised in the vintage acoustic recording with Caruso, Louise Homer and Marcel Journet.

The recorded sound is excellent. My deduction of one star reflects the frustrating inadequacy of the supporting rôles, with the honourable exception of Robert Lloyd's sonorous Old Hebrew. Both the Abimélech and Lafont's High Priest are blustery and unlovely of tone; a pity, especially as orchestra and chorus are on top form under Davis.

A very inexpensive alternative is the excellent Opera d'Oro live recording, in exceptionally good mono sound, with Jon Vickers, Oralia Dominguez (in a rare recording) and Ernest Blanc in a Dutch concert performance from 1964 conducted by Fournet (see my review). I would also never discount that 1946 all-French set conducted by Louis Fourestier, featuring the clarion-voiced José Luccioni (with valuable bonus arias in the Naxos Historical set), but this is the best modern stereo option.

Saint-Saens had very little religious faith, and he was not much of a ladies' man either. The theme of Samson and Dalila might seem at first glance to be an odd choice for him, but whatever we think of his music one thing he was unquestionably was a consummate professional. He never did anything badly. Tovey in one of his silly modes disparages Saint-Saens as too clever by half, not really a gentleman. Myself, I don't rate him the equal of, say, Smetana far less of Dvorak, but when it came to handling a libretto that would have brought out the amateur in both of those Saint-Saens can show them the door.

He originally planned to treat this story as an oratorio, but considering who had done that before him he was wise to go down the operatic route. Reading through the libretto before listening, I sensed a problem with the first act. There is a bit of a scuffle between Samson and Abimelech, but otherwise it consists mainly of speechifying, and there is a lot of choral antiphony between the respective votaries of Jehovah and Dagon. Oratorio all the way, you might think, but Saint-Saens carries it off very well as drama. In the later acts the hand of the master shows in the long duet between the two principals, with the deception, Samson's indecision and Dalila's suppressed hatred beautifully suggested; and the sense of timing in Samson's final turning of the tables on the Philistines is admirable.

Besides the direction, the vital element in this opera is the two lead parts. I would say that Borodina is very good, but that Cura as Samson is absolutely magnificent. He has the right ringing tone for the great proclamations, but he can manage his voice superbly in a despairing pianissimo as well. Both of them can act as well as sing, and between them they made me realise more than I have done before (it has been a long time since I last heard this work) just how artfully the composer, with a bit of help from the librettist it's fair to say, builds the tension, releases it, and times his denouement. Cura's French even sounds very good. Borodina's may be after the school of Nijni Novgorod, French of Paris being to her unknowe, but this does not bother me much and I hope it won't you. The other singers are bit-players, but all of them are perfectly good, and I particularly liked the voice of Robert Lloyd as the Hebrew Elder. The chorus is important in this opera, especially in that first act where they carry a lot of the narrative. After the first few minutes all is well with them, and in particular the chorus of Philistine maidens just before the famous Bacchanale is simply gorgeous. Right at the beginning I wonder whether they were suffering for a couple of minutes from a badly-placed microphone. It's not a matter of the recording in general, because the instrumental tone is magnificent even here. It did not seem to be just a matter of my ear adjusting to the sound either, because I felt the same way about it on a second hearing. For some reason the chorus are a bit indistinct to start with, but the problem clears before very long and stays cleared from then on.

The recording (DDD 1998) gets no criticism from me. I was impressed with the orchestral tone right from the start, even when I was not too happy with the way it picked up the chorus, and it rises effortlessly to the terrific sound of Cura's Verdian tenor at full blast. Kudos above all to Sir Colin Davis. I have known his work in Berlioz for many years and admired it as any right-thinking music lover should. Whether he has some special affinity for French music or just because he is a great conductor he has this score in the palm of his hand. There is a tripartite liner note from three different authors, and I found the main contribution, from James Harding, informative if rather overblown, and the part by Benoit Duteurtre, well, very French.

I suppose the true epic stuff of Handel is another matter entirely, and my familiarity with his Samson did give me some slight problems as my mind reverted enviously to what he had done with aspects of this theme. If one knows that, this is something that can just not be helped, unfair though it is. I admire Saint-Saens, I admire this work, and I commend this set of it more or less without reservation.

Despite the claims of "Renaissance" by the editorial editor-person way up there, these new recordings of S&D are dropping out of sight fast. Why? Well, having editorial editor-persons slam the quality of the music doesn't help. It's currently fashionable to bash Camille and the phenomenon is getting tiresome. There's nothing wrong with the music, there's something off about our ability to believe in certain kinds of works any more. One reason I stay clear of a lot of modern recordings is we've reached that museum-quality-reproduction phase in performing classical music, especially the REALLY emotional stuff. Plus, modern conductors don't know how to drive an orchestra any more--everyone seems satisfied with volume, technical reproduction, and a sort of note-perfect sheen.

This is a fine recording, even though I find that Colin Davis seems to confuse detail with meat now more than ever in his career. I used to like him. If you'd like to hear how this piece is supposed to sound, check out the great old Pretre recording on EMI (from 1962) which Penguin gave a whole two stars. Critics these days also like to bash Pretre for reasons I don't get at all. Is everyone working off some fouled up Cliff Notes or something?

Sorry, I don't speak english enough well to write in it but I think my comment could be useful if you love this french opera.

Le grand orchestrateur qu'était Saint-Saens n'a laissé que cet opéra à la postérité - les autres étant oubliés - et encore doit-on à son ami Liszt de l'avoir incité à le terminer et d'en avoir parrainé la création à Weimar, création qui fut un succès.

La magnifique musique fait oublier le livret conventionnel écrit par Lemaire, un poète amateur apparenté à Saint-Saens par mariage, qui, sans démériter, n'a sans doute pas fait mieux que ne l'aurait fait Saint-Saens lui-même, compositeur aux talents multiples, puisque, notamment, poète et auteur dramatique.

Contrairement à la majorité des opéras, tels ceux de Rossini, Samson et Dalila commence par une ouverture grave quasiment inaudible et allant crescendo, aux allures d'une immense mélopée et qui n'est pas sans rappeler le bouleversant début de la Passion selon Saint-Jean de J.-S. Bach. Cela ne surprend pas si l'on sait que cet opéra était à l'origine un oratorio, Saint-Saens ayant été très inspiré par la religion.

Quelques passages sont connus, voire célébres : le duo du Grand Prêtre et Dalila, l'envoutant duo d'amour entre Samson et Dalila, que Liszt - grand séducteur s'il en était - considérait comme l'apogée, ou encore la fameuse bacchanale, pièce instrumentale orientalisante, à la manière du cinquième concerto du même Saint-Saens.

L'interprétation est fort bonne : José Cura et Olga Borodina sont convaincants et leur diction tout à fait acceptable. La voix chaude de la mezzo en fait une Dalila séduisante. Sir Colin dirige brillamment le LSO. Cette version est l'alternative moderne à celle de Prêtre. Un excellent choix pour découvrir cet opéra ou pour en acquérir une version tout à la fois bonne artistiquement et techniquement.

Attention : le deuxième CD est bien rempli (79 min), ce qui peut poser des problèmes avec certains lecteurs.