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San Francisco Opera: Samson and Delilah

San Francisco Opera engaged MobileCast Media to increase subscription growth, ticket sales, and to reach out to younger demographics. Online Videos from the 2007 - 2008 Season:

- Samson and Delilah
- A Conversation With Graham Vick
- Tannhauser
- Appomattox
- The Magic Flute
- La Rondine
- Macbeth
- The Rake's Progress
- Madama Butterfly

Transcript

Kip Cranna (Musical Administrator): There aren't to many operas that deal directly with biblical stories, but Samson and Delilah is one. It really does tell the familiar story from the bible about the great strong man, the hebrew warrior Samson who is defeated by Delilah, but ultimately is victorious and destroys himself in gaining his victory. Our cast for Samson and Delilah features the wonderful mezzo, Olga Borodina, returning to us as Delilah. In the role of Samson, the rising young American dramatic tenor Clifton Forbis, as the high priest the Finish bass/baritone Juha Uusitalo, and as the Old Hebrew, the American bass Oren Gradus.

Olga Borodina has one of the most exciting mezzo-soprano voices on our operatic stages today. She has also sung the role of Delilah here before. She is moving into some of these roles where the warm color of the rich mezzo voice, it's a fascinating voice that's really wonderful to hear.

Mitzie Weiner (Opera Chorus): Olga makes a sensitivity, a sensuality and a luscious performance that no other person does. She simply becomes Delilah.

Clifton Forbis (Tenor): There has to be that tactile emotion that permeates everything and she's that kind of performer.

Dale Tracy (Opera Chorus): Singing with Olga is a lot of fun. She's just got a big character, she really brings the characters to life that she approaches and puts everything into it that she can.

Dvora Djoraev (Opera Chorus): Being next to her when she's singing with that really rich, lush, dark, Russian sound and singing a role for which she is world famous and for which she seems perfectly suited for it's just incredible.

Jere Torkelsen (Opera Chorus): I think in her, it's her personality. In all the great singers they have that instrument with them. But when it comes to this kind of thing it's their personality that shows up in their performance more than anything else.

Mark Hernandez (Opera Chorus): Glorious beginning of this opera. I think ethereal, time stand still and it is very evocative of the sense of oppression, despair, sorrow.

Natasha Ramirez Leland (Opera Chorus): You know the interesting thing about Samson in the opera chorus - the opera chorus acts as two significantly different groups. We have to be in one part the Hebrews suffering and in another act we are the Philistines celebrating.

Mark Hernandez (Opera Chorus): From here we get fairly quickly aroused into a furor by Samson and the music changes, becomes marshal. With him on the the scene we now have an inspiration to try and shake off our chains.

Placido Domingo Sings (1980 production)

Clifton Forbis (Tenor): Every man wants to fulfill what he feels his talents are.

Katherine Tier (Adler Fellow, Delilah Under Study): In the first aria of act 2, she's asking the god of love to help her and to have Samson at her knees.

Shirley Verrett Sings (1980 production)

Following that aria she has a wonderful scene with the high priest of Dagon who comes to her not quite knowing where her loyalties lie at this point and hoping to enlist her in the Philistine plot to take down Samson. He's delighted when he hears that she's already on board with that.

Shirley Verrett Sings with Timothy Noble (1980 production)

Following this she has an exchange with Samson and he's trying throughout the entire thing to maintain his own sense of equilibrium and she's just reeling him in. She uses every weapon in the female arsenal.

And then she gets into really hyperbolic language towards the end. "The arrow is less quick to bring death than I would be to fly into your arms." And you kind of listen to that out of context and think, wow, what a romantic aria, and in the context of the opera it is the biggest lie.

Clifton Forbis (Tenor): At the end of the aria when they begin that little two page duet I think is a turning point for Samson because he at that point gives over to that which he has been battling.

Kip Cranna (Musical Administrator): The famous bacchanale and the temple scene is one of the most legendary ballet sequences in all of opera. It's an extensive scene that begins slowly as the Philistines in their temple begin to celebrate their victory over Samson and begin to offer praise to their god Dagon, thanking him for making this victory happen. As it progresses emotions become increasingly heated and takes on a kind of a sexual frenzy.

Christian Holder Dances (Ballet Soloist)

Dougless Schmidt (Set Designer): Samson is lead into the temple by a child who he surreptitiously asks, he is blinded he can't see, to place him near the columns in the temple.

San Francisco Opera Chorus Sings Directed By Ian Robertson (Chorus Director)

Once he is tied up to the two columns in the temple, he knows immediately what he can do and what he will do. He calls upon his God to please give him the strength to do this in the final chords of the opera pulls down the temple killing all of the Philistines and himself.

Made with the generous support of San Francisco Opera.

Produced and directed by John Houghton of MobileCast Media, Inc.