Let me be honest: I've never paid much attention to the Saint-Saëns opera Samson et Dalila. I got a recording of it to review many years ago, gave it a casual listen and decided to pass on it. Aside from that, my entire knowledge of the work was based on three things: the critical consensus that it exists in a no man's land between opera and oratorio and isn't very dramatic; the Bachanale which used to be a popular concert piece and Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix, which has long been used as a concert aria for sopranos and mezzos.

It was the aria that perplexed me the most. In it Dalila sounds utterly in love. There isn't a hint of guile, nothing to suggest that she is about to betray Samson for the good of her country. (If you don't know the story of Samson and Delilah, by the way, read it here.)

Then I watched this DVD, paying attention for the first time to what was going on. It turns out that Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix is not an aria, but a duet. It is Samson who sings the most abject avowals of love. Dalila's lines, taken in context sound merely seductive rather than loving. Mystery solved.

I'm afraid, though, that I have to join the consensus that this isn't a very good opera. It is rescued to some extent in this production by the staging, costumes and sets which are very striking and lend an air of drama that neither the music nor the libretto can manage. The singing is very good all around, as is the orchestral work. If you want to get acquainted with Samson et Dalila, this will give you as good an introduction as you are likely to find, but don't expect a masterwork.

One thing that struck me about the libretto was that, as we all know, history is written by the victors. Listening dispassionately to what the leaders of the Philistines have to say, their point of view seems just as valid as that of the Israelites. They have the same reverence for their god as their adversaries have for theirs and, while seducing a hero to learn his secrets is a bit dodgy by most people's standards, it isn't as though the Israelites wouldn't have done the same thing under similar circumstances. And when we remember that the words "Philistine" and "Palestine" are closely related, the potential moral ambiguity of the situation has considerable resonance in today's world.

Fortunately, in this Metropolitan Opera production has the Philistines costumed and made up to look very evil indeed, so we have no doubt as to who the bad guys are.