Bacchanale from 'Samson & Delilah'

Camille Saint-Saens' Bacchanale from "Samson & Delilah" choreographed by Kenneth von Heidecke.

[richardweil]

Love how the orchestra drops into high gear at 6:58. I don't imagine most musicians could keep that pace up for too long, or dancers either, but they work well together here.

[fredobatista]

This 🎵 musical piece and the aria Mon Coeur are the best of the opus.

[shin-i-chikozima]

This performance and dance are comfortable and soothing to the ears and the eyes and the mind

[virginiakateglass]

In the mid 1990s, the drum and bugle corp Phantom Regiment from Loves park, Illinois marched Bacchanal for part of their Summer of Phantom Voices. It was magnificent!

[lydiadugan]

Just saw this at the Met! Great performance! Everyone loved it! I could see it twice, if I had the money.

[antben]

M sembra la stessa scenografia e coreografia del Sansone e Dalila di San Francisco con Shirley Verret e Placido Domingo di circa 30 anni fa. Sempre BELLISSIMA!

[AniMe-xqcr]

I have to play this song (dance bacchanal) for all city as a first chair cello 6th grade playing for 6 years

[thomask]

Great set! Familiar with the music but never seen this on stage so wasn't sure what to expect. Somewhat disappointed but, hey, it's a French so, yeah, ballet. Also wasn't expecting the full moon at 3:35.

[laurence]

We have to appreciate this in its historical context. Of course Ibert's (rather underrated but worth a listen), Ravel's (from "Daphnis and Chloë") and John Cage's Bachanales are more ferocious - in the case of Ravel startlingly sexually charged if you listen to the version with chorus - but they were from later more liberated times. There is also a surprisingly catchy Bacchanale in Khachaturian's "Spartacus" which I enjoy. Today "The Rite of Spring" is an orchestral staple; when it was premiered in 1913 it spawned a riot! Braque and Picasso were still experimenting with cubism which, at the time, was considered revolutionary and radical but today we accept as an established artistic historical trend. How "wild" is it still reasonable to expect Matisse's Fauvism to remain? I expect, when he composed it, Mozart's "The Abduction From the Seraglio" counted as spicy and sexually edgy; today we have to appreciate it for what it is: a snapshot of sexual mores from a different era (when piano-legs were covered in case they caused too much of a racy turn-on). In each case the music remains beautiful but we have to accept that each work's immortality exists in the creative genius of its composer at the time he was writing it. It is as silly to apply demands of contemporary raciness to Saint-Saens as it would be to wish still to be shocked by the wearing of a '60s mini-skirt. In my view paradoxically the more contemporary a composer attempts to sound the sooner his/her music sounds like yesterday's news. Let's enjoy earlier works for what they are rather than condemning them for not being what we wish they might have been.

[josephlutrell]

this choreography is extraordinary! Anyone who knows the traditions of French Opera and ballet know that an orgy is depicted graphically, but within the rigid traditions of the era. also, the idiot who come complained that the pillars did not come down at the end of the orgy prove their great ignorance of the Opera. The pillars do not come crashing down with the temple until the end of the ACT!

[fredojoaquim]

I love this Bacchanale: great exotic music and dancing.

[uyildiz]

I was there in sd. I also taped this show from the balcony.

[wenaviste]

Excelente coreografía y tiene correspondencia con el decorado posterior de la escenografía. Muy profesional.

[ants]

I think the choreography is genius, actually - great, great buildup, with increasing eroticism no matter which way you swing, then the release into that last statement of the wholly-pagan theme. Well done.

[erischama]

The stage is pretty good, but the choreography...gosh it's terrible. It lacks the ferocity and madness of the orchestral piece. The Philistines are supposed to be frenzied and wild with their victory in capturing Samson, but this *major* emotion is only shown in the very last bit of this choreography, which is a shame. I'm quite disappointed.

[pectit]

perfect choreography for group of retired dancers :-)

[Elyxaria]

... this is supposed to be the scene where Samson brings down the entire temple. I don't think the choreographers thought about this too well...
also, where the hell are the castanets?!

[WillCMay]

I was remembering playing this piece back when I was in high school. I can see why I was never told of it’s origins (I only found out because I dug out a Tellark CD from my parents house that refers to this piece as just “Samson & Delilah”. I was wondering why I just knew it as Bacchanal, now it’s obvious. Great piece though) and apparently this is the tame version.

[TheMuni]

Set and costumes are beautiful. Orchestra sounds great but the piece lacked momentum and direction for my taste. It kept feeling like it wanted to stop and take a nap. Also it could just be the drum corps person in me but aren't they supposed to be together when they dance? Everyone seems to have a different idea of how to execute the choreography and it looked dirty. It's also disappointing that in the more rhythmic parts of the music the choreography is more like stop and pose lol. Like there's so much opportunity to go crazy in this music but idk maybe they were all tired.

[sobel]

Can I get some more camera click in my monitor? Thx