Since this summer, music lovers have known that Voltaire aspired to provide Rameau with an opera libretto about Samson, the well-known biblical figure famous for his complicated history with the temptress Delilah, who cut his hair. Unfortunately, royal censorship refused to allow this sacred story to be staged in an opera (something Saint-Saëns would achieve years later with the success we all recognize). Rameau, who had already begun composing the music, was forced to abandon his opera and later repurposed his score in other works.
Voltaire is said to have told the composer: “I propose that we start a revolution together, for opera today has lost itself in the corridors of entertainment. It must allow us to read the world, to ask great questions.”
For Raphaël Pichon, the reason for the censorship is encapsulated in the final verses of Act III: “People, rise up. People, awaken. People, break your chains. Fight for your freedom.” On July 4, 2024, at the Théâtre de l’Archevêché in Aix-en-Provence (and not on July 14, the day of the storming of the Bastille), the brilliant conductor Raphaël Pichon unearthed a score that he had completely reworked for the world premiere of this Samson by Jean-Philippe Rameau, set to a libretto by Voltaire.
After its great critical and public success, Claus Guth’s production is now scheduled in Paris at the Opéra-Comique from March 17 to 23, 2025. While Jarrett Ott reprises his role as Samson from Aix, the Opéra-Comique presents a refreshed cast, with Ana Maria Labin as the new Delilah. She joins Julie Roset as Timna and Mirco Palazzi as Achisch, alongside the young and immensely talented singers Camille Chopin and Laurence Kilsby.
The Opéra-Comique has no intention of touching one hair on Raphaël Pichon, whose dynamism as a conductor has worked wonders more than once in this ideal acoustic setting. Let us recall the successes of Orphée et Eurydice by Gluck, Ercole Amante by Cavalli, Hippolyte et Aricie by Rameau, Fidelio by Beethoven, and Lakmé by Delibes, as well as Miranda, a pasticcio based on a work by Purcell, and Un Autre Voyage, inspired by Schubert’s operas— all conducted masterfully by Raphaël Pichon, a regular at the house!
To go seeing Raphaël Pichon conducting, click here !
Opera Comique & Raphaël Pichon – c – Stefan Brion & Piergab
