Samson et Dalila: Keeping the Tradition

By Percy Dorian Lee, 26 May 2014

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Reviewed at Seoul Arts Center: Opera Theater, Seoul on 23 May 2014

Saint-Saëns, Samson et Dalila

Prague State Opera

Jiří Mikula, Conductor

Eun Sook Kim, Director

Galia Ibragimova, Dalila

Dario di Vietri, Samson

Miguelangelo Cavalcanti, High Priest of Dagon

Christopher Temporelli, The Old Hebrew

Beseto Opera

Parsifal reconsidered: A provocative improvisation in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 26th March

Timo Riihonen and Ester Pavlů stand out in a strong cast which carries Andreas Homoki's revised version of Wagner's final opera.

****1

Calixto Bieito’s Idomeneo runs out of time in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 28th September

At the Prague State Opera, Calixto Brieito relocates Mozart's opera seria to modern times, with disastrous results.

***11

Reimann's Lear makes for a dark season finale at Prague State Opera

Frank Kuznik, 7th June

Aribert Reimann's Lear takes no prisoners in a disturbing portrayal of a world gone awry, but Barbora Horáková's scattergun direction adds to the confusion.

***11

A politically charged new Manon in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 27th March

Puccini's classic takes on a harsh contemporary edge in a dark treatment by director Sláva Daubnerová at Prague's National Theatre.

****1

A rambunctious Platée revival in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 23rd November

SKUTR's daring direction and Václav Luks's early music expertise combine to bring new vitality to a Baroque classic.

*****

To the apocalypse and beyond: Le Grand Macabre in Prague

David Karlin, 14th June

Nigel Lowery’s new production at Prague State Opera is a gusher of ideas, starting as slapstick but profoundly moving by the end.

****1

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Percy Dorian Lee

Hailed as “the most charming…artist…with personality,” Percy Dorian Lee has been an active musician worldwide, having been the First Prize winner of a number of competitions for piano and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City, Salle Cortot in Paris and Bishopsgate Hall in London. His compositions have been heard to an acclaim in such venues as the Kennedy Center and Berlin Philharmonic Chamber Music Hall. He holds degrees and diplomas from The Juilliard School and Yale University, and he has been on the jury of national and international music competitions as well as on the faculty of a well-known university in Korea.