Jarrett sings the title role of Samson.

Samson is known for his godlike strength and his passion for Dalila. But his divine birth, announced by an angel, also made him a saviour and a judge while his hopeless self-control, literal and figurative blindness and failures in love made him a hero marked by fate.

Voltaire’s ambition was to offer Rameau a philosophical, rather than academic, opera libretto based on this character from the Book of Judges. But royal censors refused to see the Sacred History dragged onto secular stages. Rameau thus abandoned the project and recycled his score in his later works.

The 1734 project, which cannot be strictly restored, inspired Claus Guth and Raphaël Pichon to adopt a more extended and collective frame of reference. The scenario of Samson’s life is cleverly accompanied by a perfect music montage intended to be as true as possible to the original. With a single strong plot and striking music, this total show presents today’s audiences with the edifying tragedy dreamt by Voltaire.

Creation by Claus Guth and Raphaël Pichon based on Samson. An opera creation project by Jean- Philippe Rameau, on a censored Voltaire libretto, created on 4th July 2024 at the Festival d’Aix-En-Provence

Musical direction, Raphaël Pichon • Stage direction, Claus Guth • With Jarrett Ott, Ana Maria Labin, Julie Roset, Laurence Kilsby, Camille Chopin, a child from la Maîtrise Populaire of the Opéra-Comique • Choir and Orchestra, Pygmalion