SAMSON ET DALILA to Close Union Avenue Opera's 32nd Festival Season
Kathryn Frady directs the French-language production with Scott Schoonover conducting.
Union Avenue Opera will close its 32nd Festival Season with the company premiere of Camille Saint-Saëns' SAMSON ET DALILA, playing four performances August 14, 15, 21 and 22 in St. Louis.
Directed by Kathryn Frady with UAO Founding Artistic Director Scott Schoonover conducting the Union Avenue Opera Orchestra and Chorus, the production stars tenor Jonny Kaufman as Samson and mezzo-soprano Melody Wilson as Dalila. The opera will be performed in French with English supertitles.
Set against the Israelites' struggle for freedom, SAMSON ET DALILA follows the legendary strongman whose love for Dalila becomes the instrument of his downfall. Saint-Saëns' score includes the opera's central love duet and the “Bacchanale,” building toward the work's climactic conclusion.
“One of the things that makes Samson et Dalila so extraordinary is the writing for the principal voices,” said Schoonover. “Saint-Saëns gives Samson and Dalila some of the most passionate and emotionally expressive music in all of opera. Jonny Kaufman and Melody Wilson have exactly the kind of voices that allow this score to soar.”
Cast and Creative Team
Kaufman returns to Union Avenue Opera following his performance as Canio in last summer's Pagliacci. Wilson has previously appeared with the company as Mrs. Miller in Doubt, Fenena in Nabucco and Amneris in Aida.
The cast also features Eliam Ramos, making his UAO debut as the High Priest, alongside returning artists Fitzgerald St. Louis and Jacob Lassetter, both of whom appeared in last summer's Salome.
Frady's staging approaches the story of Samson and Dalila through an examination of power and its consequences.
“This production explores Samson and Dalila not as a story of good versus evil, but as a world shaped by power,” Frady said. “How it is built, how it seduces, and how it ultimately collapses. We've created a world that feels simultaneously constructed and unstable, where the environment itself reflects the systems shaping the characters.”
Schoonover noted that Union Avenue Opera's intimate venue will also play a role in the production.
“Our venue becomes part of the storytelling,” he said. “The voices of the chorus surround the audience, and the intimacy of the space allows every emotion to feel immediate. It's an experience that simply can't be replicated in a larger theater.”
SAMSON ET DALILA Performance Schedule
SAMSON ET DALILA will be performed August 14, 15, 21 and 22, with all performances beginning at 8 p.m.
The opera features music by Camille Saint-Saëns and a libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire. Performances will be presented in French with English supertitles and accompanied by a full orchestra featuring members of AFM Local 2-197.
Friday performances will also feature the “Know Before You Go” lecture series with Dr. Jeffrey Heyl beginning at 7 p.m.
Tickets and Additional Information
Single tickets range from $25 to $60. Discounts are available for seniors ages 65 and older, military members and educators, audiences under 18 and groups of 10 or more. Student Rush tickets are available at the door with a valid ID for $15 cash or $20 by card.
All performances take place at Union Avenue Opera's home in Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 N. Union Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri. Free parking is available behind the venue, with additional street parking nearby.
Tickets and additional information are available through Union Avenue Opera or by calling 314-361-2881.
About Union Avenue Opera
Since 1995, Union Avenue Opera has presented opera in St. Louis with a focus on intimate productions, musicianship and opportunities for emerging artists. The company presents operas in their original languages with English supertitles.
SAMSON ET DALILA concludes Union Avenue Opera's 32nd Festival Season.
