{"product_id":"880242586285","title":"Tomas Netopil - Saint-Saens: Samson Et Dalila - Import DVD","description":"\u003cp\u003eCredits:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTomas Netopil\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescription:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA complete reversal of perspective: a provocative staging that lays bare the Palestinian question, and one that has set off intense debate.\nTorsten Kerl in impassioned voice and a dashing Tomáš Netopil in Samson et Dalila.\nThis is a notable release documenting a production of Saint-Saëns's Samson et Dalila at the Vlaamse Opera in Belgium. The work is usually presented with its sensuality and exoticism to the fore, as embodied in Dalila's aria \"Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix\" and in the Bacchanale, but here the Israeli director Omri Nitzan (who staged Verdi's Nabucco at Suntory Hall) and the Palestinian director Amir Nizar Zuabi share the direction, turning the piece into a searching examination of the contemporary Palestinian situation. The roles are entirely inverted: the Hebrews are Palestinians, the Philistines Israelis, and Samson is a Palestinian leader. The opening alone is strikingly confrontational, with upper-class figures enjoying ballroom dancing upstage while impoverished Palestinians lament in the foreground, the wealthy guests making no attempt to hide their distaste as they leave the moment Samson raises his voice. Abimélech is an Israeli officer in white uniform, the High Priest of Dagon an Israeli politician in a black suit, and Dalila a prostitute who believes in nothing but money. The impact of the staging can be measured not only by the sharply divided reaction it drew in Belgium but by the fact that it was covered by The New York Times in the United States.\n\nMusically the performance is equally rewarding. Torsten Kerl, currently among the finest Heldentenors before the public, is overwhelming as Samson, bringing not only a firm, powerfully projected voice but a real sense of the inner conflict of the oppressed. Dalila is sung by the Russian mezzo-soprano Marianna Tarasova, a native of St Petersburg, who sang Amneris in Aida at the New National Theatre, Tokyo in March 2008. Nikola Mijailović, the High Priest of Dagon, is a baritone born in Belgrade, Serbia in 1973, and his broad, assertive voice and imposing physical presence give the role real authority. Adding to all this, the much-admired Czech conductor Tomáš Netopil draws playing of great freshness and reminds us just how bold Saint-Saëns's writing was for its time. Essential viewing.\n\nKing International\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"EuroArts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53595688796449,"sku":"880242586285","price":3790.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0568\/8482\/2076\/files\/880242586285.jpg?v=1790482304","url":"https:\/\/cdsvinyljapan.com\/products\/880242586285","provider":"CDs Vinyl Japan Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}