Agostino Arrivabene Designs Sets and Costumes for Monte Carlo Opera's Samson et Dalila

Agostino Arrivabene, born in Rivolta d’Adda in 1967, was commissioned by the Opéra de Monte-Carlo to design sets and costumes for Camille Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila, directed by Jean-Louis Grinda with musical direction by Kazuki Yamada. The collaboration began in 2016 after Arrivabene's manager saw his works at Galleria Bonelli in Pietrasanta. The production is co-produced with the Teatro di Shanghai and the Chorégies d'Orange in France. The premiere took place on November 19, 2018, at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, attended by Prince Albert of Monaco and his family, with public performances on November 22 and 25. Arrivabene's designs draw from his own painting Pro-genius (2012) and anamorphosis inspired by 17th-century Lorraine artist François Didier Nomé (Monsù Desiderio). The sets evoke Gustave Moreau's watercolors L'Apparition (1876) and Salomè dansant devant Hérode (1876), as well as Piranesi's Carceri. Costumes reference Alexander McQueen, Rick Owens, and medieval stereotypes, with the third-act Dalila costume inspired by the Minoan snake goddess. The light design by Laurent Castaingt echoes Flemish Baroque and Symbolist atmospheres. Most manufacturing was Italian, including Casa d’arte CTC, Rancati, Arianese, Pompei, and Mario Audello. The production emphasizes grand opéra over oratorio, with epic choruses and heroic characters. Arrivabene's work creates an atemporal dimension blending past, present, and future.