"SAMSON ET DALILA" There are but two musical works based on the story of Samson on the current list to-day, Handel's oratorio and Saint-Saens's opera; but lyric drama was still in its infancy when the subject first took hold of the fancy of composers and it has held it ever since.

The earliest works were of the kind called sacred operas in the books and are spoken of as oratorios now, though they were doubtless performed with scenery and costumes and with action of a sort.

Such were "Il Sansone" by Giovanni Paola Colonna (Bologna, 1677), "Sansone accecato da Filistri" by Francesco Antonio Uri (Venice, about 1700), "Simson" by Christoph Graupner (Hamburg, 1709), "Simson" by Georg von Pasterwitz (about 1770), "Samson" by J.N.Lefroid Mereaux (Paris, 1774), "Simson" by Johann Heinrich Rolle (about 1790), "Simson" by Franz Tuczek (Vienna, 1804), and "Il Sansone" by Francesco Basili (Naples, 1824).

Two French operas are associated with great names and have interesting histories.
Voltaire wrote a dramatic text on the subject at the request of La Popeliniere, the farmer-general, who, as poet, musician, and artist, exercised a tremendous influence in his day.

Rameau was in his service as household clavecinist and set Voltaire's poem.