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Samson Et Dalila Samson and Delilah (opera) Samson et Dalila is an opera in three acts (or four tableaux) composed by Camille Saint-Saëns, initially in 1866 to 1868, and reworked from 1873 to 1877. Its libretto is by Ferdinand Lemaire. The opera was championed by Franz Liszt, who produced it at Weimar, December 2 1877, but it was not produced at the Opra in Paris until 1892, because the subject matter (from the Book of Judges 16) was thought to be unsuitable for the theatrical stage. In London, the Lord Chamberlain kept Samson et Dalila from being staged, though it was presented as an oratorio, which was the form in which Saint-Saëns had first conceived it. The first and last acts are somewhat stiff, and the bacchanale in the third act seems tame to modern ears, but the second act, in which Dalila seduces Samson in her tent, is continuously inspired. Dalila is one of the great roles for mezzo-soprano. Saint-Saëns dedicated it to Pauline Viardot, who organized a private performance of the music from Act II at her house in Paris, with Saint-Saëns at the piano, in the vain hope of interesting the director of the Opéra, though without avail. The selection "Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix" ("My heart opens to your voice") is a popular recital piece. Samson
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