DownWithTyranny!: [4/29/2012] Some mighty angry Israelites and Philistines -- the opening scene of "Samson et Dalila," part 3 (continued)

Considering how long it's taken us to get halfway through Act I of Samson, we're not going to make it to Act III anytime soon. Here's Plácido Domingo as the blind Samson of Act III singing "Vois ma misère, hélas" ("See my misery, alas").

SAMSON REACHES HIS PEAK OF FERVOR, IN A
MUSICAL EXHORTATION IN A CLASS OF ITS OWN

In a moment we're going to be listening in proper sequence to the remaining scenes (counting them in the old-fashioned theatrical way, where the entrance of any new character marks the beginning of a new "scene") that make up the opening scene of Samson. But first I wanted to expand a bit on the taste I offered before the click-through of Samson's final exhortation to his fellow Hebrews, "Israël, romps ta chaîne" ("Israel, break your chains"). So we're going to listen now to his reply to Abimélech's rant, and then hear, first, how he comes to urge this particular urging, and then how it develops and expands.

SAINT-SAÉNS: Samson et Dalila: Act I, Scene 2, Samson, "C'est toi que sa bouche invective" ("It's you whom his mouth reviles") . . . "Israël, romps ta chaîne!" ("Israel, break your chains")

SAMSON: It's you whom his mouth reviles,
and yet the earth hasn't trembled?
O Lord! The abyss is upon us.
I see in the hands of angels
a weapon of shame shining,
and the phalanxes of heaven
gather to avenge God.
Yes, the angel of darkness,
while passing before them,
utters funereal cries
that make the heavens tremble!
Finally the hour has come,
the hour of God the Avenger,
and I hear, in the clouds,
his fury bursting.
Yes, in the face of his wrath
all are terrified and flee!
One feels the earth trembling;
in the heavens lightning flashes!
CHORUS OF HEBREWS: Yes, in the face of his wrath
all are terrified and flee!
One feels the earth trembling;
in the heavens lightning flashes!
ABIMÉLECH: Stop! Mad, reckless man!
Or fear exciting my wrath!
SAMSON: Israel, break your chains!
O people, rise up!
Come and slake your hatred!
The Lord is within me!
O thou, God of Light,
as in the days of yesteryear,
hear my prayer
and fight for thy laws!
THE HEBREWS: Israel, break your chains, &c.
SAMSON: Yes, in the face of his wrath
all are terrified and flee!
One feels the earth trembling;
in the heavens lightning flashes!
He unleashes the tempest;
one sees at his passing
the ocean retreating!
THE HEBREWS and SAMSON: Israel, break your chains, &c.
[ABIMÉLECH hurls himself, sword in hand, to strike him. SAMSON snatches the sword from him and strikes him. ABIMÉLECH cries for help while falling. The Philistines who accompany the satrap want to help him; SAMSON, brandishing his sword, drives them off. The greatest confusion reigns among them. SAMSON and THE HEBREWS exit the stage.]

René Maison (t), Samson; John Gurney (bs), Abimélech; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Maurice Abravanel, cond. Live performance, Dec. 26, 1936

Jon Vickers (t), Samson; Anton Diakov (bs), Abimélech; René Duclos Chorus, Orchestra of the Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Georges Prêtre, cond. EMI, recorded Sept. 25-Oct. 10, 1962

Plácido Domingo (t), Samson; Jean-Philippe Courtis (bs), Abimélech; Chorus and Orchestra of Opéra-Bastille, Myung-Whun Chung, cond. EMI, recorded July 1-11, 1991

OKAY, LET'S BACK UP TO ABIMÉLECH'S ENTRANCE

Samson et Dalila: Act I, Scene 2 (Abimélech scene)

Scene 2
[ABIMÉLECH enters, followed by several warriors and Philistine soldiers.]
ABIMÉLECH: Who then raises his voice here?
Again this vile herd of slaves,
always daring to flout our laws
and wanting to break their shackles!
Hide your sighs and your tears,
which try our patience;
instead invoke the clemency
of those who were your conquerors!
[2nd stanza omitted in the RCA excerpts:]
This God whom your voice implores
has remained deaf to your cries,
and you still dare to pray to him
when he delivers you into our contempt?
If his power isn't vain,
let him show his divinity!
Let him come to break your chains!
Let him restore your freedom!
Do you think this God comparable
to Dagon, the greatest of gods,
guiding with his redoubtable arm
our victorious warriors?
Your fearful divinity
fled trembling before him,
as the plaintive dove
flees the vulture that pursues it!
SAMSON: It's you whom his mouth reviles . . . .
[Continues as above.]

[2nd stanza of Abimélech diatribe omitted, as noted above] Ezio Flagello (bs), Abimélech; Mario del Monaco (t), Samson; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Fausto Cleva, cond. RCA, recorded 1958

Alexander Malta (bs), Abimélech; James King (t), Samson; Bavarian Radio Chorus, Munich Radio Orchestra, Giuseppe Patanè, cond. Eurodisc/BMG Sony, recorded c1972

Yves Bisson (bs), Abimélech; Carlo Cossutta (t), Samson; Vienna Volksoper Chorus, Sofia Chamber Chorus, Bregenz Festival Chorus, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Sylvain Cambreling, cond. Koch, recorded live, July 21, 1988

NOW LET'S LET THE HIGH PRIEST MAKE HIS ENTRANCE

Samson et Dalila: Act I, Scenes 3-4 (High Priest scene)

Scene 3
[The doors of the temple of Dagon open. The High Priest, followed by numerous servants and guards, descends the steps of the portico. He stops in front of the corpse of ABIMÉLECH; the Philistines step aside before him.]
HIGH PRIEST: What do I see? Abimélech! Struck down by slaves!
Why let them escape? Let's run, let's run, my worthies!
To avenge your prince, crush under your blows
this uprisen people daring your wrath!
1ST PHILISTINE: I felt all my blood
freeze in my veins.
It seems like the chaines
are suddenly going to entwine me.
2ND PHILISTINE: I search in vain for my weapons!
My arms are powerless!
My heart is filled with anxieties!
My knees are trembling!
HIGH PRIEST: Cowards! More cowardly than women!
You flee in the face of combat!
Do you fear the flames of their God
which will shrivel in you arms?
Scene 4
[A Philistine messenger enters.]
MESSENGER: My lord! The furious mob
that Samson leads and guides
in his audacious revolt
draws near, ravaging the harvest!
THE TWO PHILISTINES and THE MESSENGER:
Let's flee from needless danger!
Let's leave this place as quickly as possible!
My lord, let's abandon the city
and hide our shame from view!
HIGH PRIEST: Accursed be forever the race
of the children of Israel!
I want to erase all trace of them,
to soak them in bile!
Accursed be the one who guides them!
I will crush underfoot
his broken bones, his parched throat,
without a shake of pity!
Accursed be the breast of the woman
who made him see the day!
Let finally an infamous woman
betray his love!
Accursed be the God he adores --
this God, his sole hope!
And whose altar and power
my hatred once again insults.

Ezio Pinza (bs), High Priest of Dagon; Max Altglass (t) and Wilfred Engelman (b), Philistines; Angelo Bada (t), Messenger; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Maurice Abravanel, cond. Live performance, Dec. 26, 1936

Robert Merrill (b), High Priest of Dagon; Leslie Chabay (t) and Clifford Harvuot (b), Philistines; Emery Darcy (t), Messenger; Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Emil Cooper, cond. Live performance, Nov. 26, 1949

Ernest Blanc (b), High Priest of Dagon; Jacques Potier (t) and Jean-Pierre Hurteau (bs), Philistines; Rémy Corazza (t), Messenger; René Duclos Chorus, Orchestra of the Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Georges Prêtre, cond. EMI, recorded Sept. 25-Oct. 10, 1962

NOW IT'S TIME TO LISTEN TO THE WHOLE
OF THE OPENING SCENE OF SAMSON

And we're going to hear two performances we've been sampling the whole way: my much-loved 1962 EMI version with Rita Gorr, Jon Vickers, and Ernest Blanc, wonderfully conducted by Georges Prêtre; and the 1946 EMI version, on the strength of its solid (French!) Samson, José Luccioni plus the splendid High Priest of Paul Cabanel and the vocallly bottom-shy but otherwise first-rate Abimélech of Charles Cambon.

Unless I've screwed it up somewhere (always a possibility), I've organized both performances with track switches that actually work in our favor, breaking the scene down into the same four logical units.

SAINT-SAÉNS: Samson et Dalila:
Act I opening scene (complete)

(1) Orchestral introduction and Scene 1 beginning
(2) Scene 1 from Samson's "Arrêtez, ô mes frères"
(3) Scene 2 (Abimélech)
(4) Scenes 3-4 (High Priest)

José Luccioni (t), Samson; Charles Cambon (b), Abimélech; Paul Cabanel (b), High Priest of Dagon; et al.; Chorus and Orchestra of the Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Louis Fourestier, cond. EMI, recorded September 1946

Jon Vickers (t), Samson; Anton Diakov (bs), Abimélech; Ernest Blanc (b), High Priest of Dagon; Jacques Potier (t) and Jean-Pierre Hurteau (bs), Philistines; Rémy Corazza (t), Messenger; René Duclos Chorus, Orchestra of the Théâtre National de l'Opéra de Paris, Georges Prêtre, cond. EMI, recorded Sept. 25-Oct. 10, 1962

UPDATE: I knew I would screw up big-time somewhere with these audio files, and both of these were wrong. Track 4 of the Fourestier recording now stops at the end of the opening scene, and the Prêtre recording now actually is the Prêtre recording, I think.

THE SAMSON SERIES

Part 1: Introducing Saint-Saëns' Samson, the second-angriest man in opera [3/11/2012]
Chorus and quartet from Act I of Rossini's William Tell
"Arrêtez, ô mes frères" sung by José Luccioni, Mario del Monaco, Plácido Domingo, José Cura, and Jon Vickers
Preview: These two Mystery Openings introduce works that I for one can't wait to hear more of [3/9/2012]
Samson excerpts sung by Georges Thill, Mario del Monaco, Plácido Domingo, Ramón Vinay, and Jon Vickers; plus excerpts from Ponchielli's La Gioconda and Verdi's Otello

Part 2: Let's hear how Samson rallies his people [3/25/2012]
Performances by Jon Vickers, Carlo Cossutta, et al., conducted by Georges Prêtre, Sylvain Cambreling, et al.
Preview: How we get to Samson's heroic first utterance [3/24/2012]
Performances of the opening conducted by Daniel Barenboim and Colin Davis; "Arrêtez, ô mes frères" sung by José Luccioni, Ludovic Spiess, Mario del Monaco

Part 3: Some mighty angry Israelites and Philistines -- the opening scene of Samson et Dalila, part 3 [4/29/2012]
The Abimélech and High Priest scenes, with Ezio Flagello, Simon Estes, Alexander Malta, and Yves Bisson (Abimélech); Paul Cabanel, Renato Bruson, Ezio Pinza, Robet Merrill, and Ernest Blanc (High Priest); Plácido Domingo, José Luccioni, Mario del Monaco, René Maison, Jon Vickers, James King, and Carlo Cossutta (Samson). The complete opening scene conducted by Louis Fourestier (1946, with Luccioni, Charles Cambon, Cabanel) and Georges Prêtre (1962, with Vickers, Anton Diakov, Blanc)