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In the well-known tale taken from the Old Testament's Book of Judges, Samson, one of the oppressed Jews, displays a unique strength when he kills Abimelech, one of the ruling Philistines. With Samson already under the spell of the beautiful Dalila, the High Priest of Dagon has her use her allure to discover the secret of Samson's power. Betrayed by Dalila and overpowered by the Philistines, Samson is paraded in his weakness into the temple. With a final prayer to God, enough strength returns for him to bring the temple crashing down on the heads of his enemies. Sung in French with English surtitles. Running time 3 hours.

Performers Jose Cura (Samson), Denyce Graves (Dilila), Bruno Caproni (High Priest), Julian Rodescu (Old Hebrew), Tigran Matirossian (Abimelech), Andrew Kennedy (Philistine), Jared Holt (Philistine), Hubert Francis (Messenger).
Music Saint-Saens. Lyrics Feerdinand Lemaire. Producer Royal Opera. Director Elijah Moshinsky. Conductor Philippe Jordan. Design Sidney Nolan. Lighting Nick Chelton. Choreographer David Bintley.