Samson and Delilah was an enterprising choice for Glasgow Grand in 1958, paired in repertory with the even less familiar Masaniello (La Muette de Portici), one of the most important early grand operas.
The most famous opera by Saint-Saëns seemed to be on the verge of vanishing from the repertoire. It had been given by both Varl Rosa and Moody-Manners, early in the century, but was rather less popular.
The professional guest tenor here was John Carolan, a young Irish soloist who spent some time with Glyndeourne before singing leading roles with Sadler's Wells.
The chorus master is James Loughran, who went on to direct the BBC Scottish Symphony, the Hallé and, in Germany, the Bamberg Symphony.
The director of both Glasgow Grand operas was Jack Notman, a young architect who maintained a sideline in stage design, later providng sets and costumes for three highly contrasted Scottish Opera stagings, Monteverdi's Ballo delle ngrate, Sullivan's Gondoliers and Richard Strauss's Capriccio.
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