Page 452 - Aldeburgh Festival 2022 FINAL COVERAGE BOOK
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Samson et Dalila — a surging biblical epic with star turns
Like Tom Jones, we also have to ask, “Why, why, why, Dalila?” As delivered by the
magnificent Elina Garanca, her gorgeous love song for Samson is genuinely felt, as is her
contempt for her Philistine compatriots. Yet she betrays him. The moral confusion evident in
both characters is what gives Act II of this production its surging theatrical energy, especially
with Garanca matched for vocal power by the young Korean tenor SeokJong Baek, making an
outstanding Royal Opera debut. To June 19
Richard Morrison
Read the full Samson et Dalila review
Lift Every Voice — the LSO gets the gospel spirit
The evening opened with a majestic setting of Lift Every Voice, one block of the stalls given
over to a children’s and an adult choir with the London Symphony Chorus on stage behind the
orchestra. Amid the celestial swell, two soloists — the operatic tenor Albert Lee and the soprano
NaGuanda Nobles — added lustre. Thomas introduced Ave Maria in a sublime arrangement by
Nathaniel Dett. When British critics heard it in the 1930s they assumed it was the work of some
long dead European great, not a contemporary black American.
John Bungey
Read the full Lift Every Voice review
