Cincinnati Opera artistic director Nicholas Muni was frowning. The spacing of the two temple pillars, which play a crucial role in the last act of Samson and Delilah, opening tonight, was slightly off. He hopped from the stage to the auditorium, overseeing the adjustment between rehearsals last week.
"Let's face it, when the curtain goes up, the entire audience is looking for the two pillars. Where are they? How are they going to do it?" he says.
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IF YOU GO
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What: Samson and Delilah by Saint-Saens; Nicholas Muni, director; Barbara Yahr, conductor; Victoria Morgan, choreographer; Clifton Forbis, Samson; Irina Mishura, Delilah; Mark S. Doss, High Priest of Dagon.
When: 8 p.m. today and Saturday.
Where: Music Hall.
Tickets: 721-8222. |
Saint-Saens based his opera on the Old Testament story, where (in case you've forgotten) Samson brings down the Temple of Dagon (a fertility god worshiped by the Philistines) by pushing down two pillars in a final feat of strength.
Anticipation is high as Mr. Muni directs his second production as artistic director, following an enormously successful reception of Janacek's Jenufa in early July. As with Jenufa, Mr. Muni's touch will be evident in virtually every facet of Samson and Delilah, from coaching the singers to tweaking the set.
"Nic is very much like the real impresarios of some time ago, where their hands are into every creative level of the process, from small details to large conceptual issues," says Glenn Plott, the opera's new production director.
Mr. Muni's concept is more than to wow the audience with a Cecil B. DeMille biblical spectacle. It's more than Samson's relationship with Delilah, more than the temple destruction, more than the orgy scene, he says.
"Most people know the legend: Man gets seduced by deceptive woman and gets his hair cut; man pushes building down. That's the level that we all know.
"We're digging down into many other layers."
Staging excitement
The crux of the opera occurs in the second act, in the scene between the Hebrew Samson, sung by Clifton Forbis, and the Philistine beauty, Delilah, sung by Irina Mishura.
"It's a triangle. There are actually three performers in this scene: There's Samson, there's Delilah and there's God," Mr. Muni says. (God is represented by an orchestral storm, with lots of thunder and lightning.) The scene is a psychological battle between Samson and his conscience. His beliefs are tested.
"It's about a man fighting his inner demons. He breaks his covenant with God over Delilah," he says.
For Mr. Muni, who is directing his first Samson and Delilah, the biggest challenge is that the drama - especially the second act - is weak. Saint-Saens had originally intended it to be an oratorio. Many of the key points in the familiar story - such as Samson's concession to Delilah, even the haircutting - take place offstage. "I've seen it a dozen times, and every time I've been bored," he says. "It's not a boring piece, but it is difficult to stage."
Making some changes
To help sustain the drama, Mr. Muni has added a thread of action to Act II that he does not want to reveal. He will also emphasize Delilah's love relationship with the High Priest, which exists in the libretto but is rarely brought out.
His touch will also be evident in the final act. There he sees the last two scenes as one big one. The act will open with Samson alone, with the temple behind a scrim.
When the curtain is raised, the audience will see the Philistines preparing for the ritual sacrifice of Samson. Mr. Muni likens it to the passion of Christ.
"That last scene is like the stations of the cross, where Samson is subjected to an ordered series of humiliations leading to his sacrifice," he says.
The famous Bacchanale, which will be focused around Samson, is one of those stations of the cross. The ballet, choreographed by Cincinnati Ballet artistic director Victoria Morgan, will flow seamlessly from the preceding activities, she says.
Its style is "primitive and basic and sensual and sexy, yet the music is lush and pretty and bright," says Ms. Morgan, who worked with San Francisco Opera for 10 years.
Mr. Muni stresses that the "orgy" of worship in the last scene is about spirituality, not just hedonism.
"There's no simulated sex; we don't need that," he says. "Anything that we do physically has to be related to a very deep belief on the part of the Philistines, that it's going to help them attain their nirvana."
So how sexy is it? Would Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters approve?
He grins mischievously. "Oh, let's see, I don't know. We're not finished making it yet!" he laughs.
