Displaying items by tag: opera Samson

Voltaire, one of the philosophers of the Enlightenment, fought for freedom of thought, liberty of expression and social justice. His works still cause controversy: in 2006 a production of his famous novella Candide, composed in the 20th century as an opera by Leonard Bernstein, was taken off the stage of La Scala because it satirised modern Western political leaders. Revived, Candide was a hit at La Scala in 2007. Also in 2007, Muslim protesters in a town in France tried to prevent a reading of Voltaire’s Mahomet (1741), but the mayor insisted that the play go on, in the name of freedom of speech.

Voltaire also wrote for the opera stage and in the 1730s provided the libretto for Samson by Rameau. He could not attend the first performances because he was hiding out in the remote Champagne province at the time, but his mistress Émilie du Châtelet was able to do so--she was a dedicated opera fan anyway. When she rejoined Voltaire at the Château de Cirey she gave him a report on the performances. I just came across a very amusing video revealing that this 'lost opera by Voltaire' has been revived for the Festival of Aix en Provence and broadcast by ARTE in Europe. The video is in French but the illustrations retell Samson's well-known story brilliantly.

Samson comes up in the first Victor Constant Investigation, Murder at Cirey, which is now on pre-order on Amazon.