Samson et Dalila

"In recent years Argentine José Cura has been trying his hand as composer, conductor, director and stage designer. I had my doubts regarding the latter two capacities ... but Cura seems basically to know what he's doing ... His voice can still take the climaxes in stride, but the sound remains rather raw much of the time ... Jochem Hochstenbach's conducting will suffice, but barely ... The orchestra's timbres fail to glisten sufficiently ... A production worth seeing once, but this definitely shouldn't be the single Samson et Dalila in one's collection".

"Richard Jones's production of 'Samson et Dalila' polarised opinion when it opened at Covent Garden in 2022 ... Jones apparently sought to avoid orientalism ... refused, wisely, to anchor it to any specific religious or political conflict ... The performance is terrific, however. Pappano conducts with relentless energy, forging a consistent stylistic and dramatic unity from the eclectic mix of elements - Bach's Passions, Wagnerian chromaticism, North African music - that fired Saint-Saëns's imagination. The playing is superb in its detail and intensity ... Korean tenor SeokJong Back [as Samson] ... his soft singing captures a vulnerability that elude som Samsons ... Elina Garanca's Dalila is simply magnificent throughout ... In so many ways, this demands to be heard, though you may not like the staging".

"Die zeitlos-nichtsagende inszenierung von Richard Jones stellt die schwülstige Bibelhandlung in das Wellblech-Ambiente einer prekär-aggresiven Spass-gesellschaft, wo alles Göttliche durch ein clowngesichtiges Spielcasino-Idol ersetzt wurde. Bunt, grell und total hohl, mit stampfender Polizeitruppe im Bacchanal. Dafür lässt es Antonio Pappano metiersicher schäumen, funkeln und schmachten, Orchester und Chor klingen wirklich de luxe. Elina Garanča singt ihre klischeebeladende Rolle mit warner, tiefer und erotisch-sinnlicher Stimme, freilich immer mit einer gewissen Distanz ... Einseitiger gibt der junge südkoreanische Tenor Seokjong Baeck den Samson als einfach gebrochenen Helden mit Spitzentönen, aber ohne Ausdrucksnuancen".