Jean-Philippe Rameau: Samson (Festival d'Aix-en-Provence) (2024)
Overview
When, in 1733, Voltaire, the most brilliant mind of his day, collaborates with Rameau, its greatest composer, in undertaking an ambitious reform of operatic practice, the result is the biblical opera Samson. But the libretto is condemned and the score lost – possibly reworked here and there in later compositions. Claus Guth and Raphaël Pichon, haunted by this interesting project that had turned into one of the most intriguing failures in operatic history, have tried, not to recreate the letter, but to revive the spirit: to marry a strong, noble libretto with the most eloquent music.
Cast
Jarett Ott
Samson
Lea Desandre
Timna
Nahuel Di Pierro
Achisch
Laurence Kilsby
Elon
Andréa Ferréol
La mère de Samson
