Let’s see. An opera about Israelis trying to live in peace and freedom in Gaza. Has the Met gone contemporary? Hardly. Instead it is offering a somewhat new cast in Camille Saint-Saëns’s only opera that is ever performed in our modern age (he actually composed 13). Adopted by the Wagnerians, the piece was premiered in Liszt’s Weimar in 1897 and wasn’t mounted in Paris for more than a decade. Nevertheless, the work is still French to the core. In fact, its U.S. premiere was not in New York but in New Orleans.

The big cast change was the ascendancy of José Cura into the role of Samson, previously the province of his mentor, Placido Domingo. Mr. Cura, an Argentinian, has been following very closely in the footsteps of the reigning Metropolitan tenor, developing his instrument as that of a heroic tenor. He has received a lot of European ink about his recent runs in “Otello.” Mr. Cura has even begun conducting opera performances, a la the divine Placido.

A comparison seems appropriate. This new specimen is a strapping fellow, perfectly molded physically for the strongman role. Mr. Cura possesses a powerful voice – and by this I mean loud – and has no trouble projecting to the back of this cavernous auditorium. What he lacks in terms of vocal quality, however, is Mr. Domingo’s sweetness, that honeyed sense that the individual notes are being transmitted as the most beautiful examples of their kind. He is also far from a great thespian, slouching around through most of Monday’s performance like an apathetic wretch (and not just after his haircut). Also, at least this opening night, he strained often for high notes that were almost uniformly flat. As a heroic tenor, he is not yet ready for the “Winterstürme.”

Much more satisfying was the Dalila of Denyce Graves. This golden mezzo has owned this role at the Met for years and shows no signs of slowing anytime soon. She is still a high energy sorceress, dancing frenetically with her much younger handmaidens with abandon. Vocally, she musters all that she has in a highly efficient manner.

Oddly, although Ms. Graves’s ardent passages were sung at a much lower volume than Mr. Cura’s, it was her voice that came through clearly over the often loud orchestra of Bertrand de Billy. This is due, I believe, to a combination of enviable timbre and crafty experience. Her characterizations were extremely impressive: Ingenuous at the outset, evil in soliloquy, sensuality itself in the love duet. Her “Mon Coeur s’ouvre a ta voix” was a knockout.

The minor characters were all fine. It was announced before the program that Jean-Philippe Lafont had a cold and this was indeed noticeable, but his rich “Maudite a jamais soit la race” carried the day nonetheless. Very moving was the Old Hebrew of Vitalij Kowaljow, a Slav from the old school who could be a glorious Tibetan chant leader with that booming bass. And James Courtney was an otherworldly Abimelech, reminding me in his desperations of Klaus Kinsky in Nosferatu (it might have been the fingernails).

The production of Elijah Moshinsky – great name for this particular opera, by the way – was serviceable if not exciting and fortified the illusion that the oppressors were totally alien beings of an unnatural red color. The costumes of Richard Hudson and the lighting of Duane Schuler emphasized this sci-fi quality, but ultimately I was reminded of a Hollywood “B” effort, perhaps a Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers serial.

It might be a bit tiresome to mention for the 100th time, but the real stars of this performance were the splendid Met orchestra and chorus. “Samson et Dalila” is an odd hybrid, part oratorio, part opera, part burlesque show. The chorus in particular made the first act the most memorable. Dressed in phylacteries and prayer shawls, the Metropolitan men were simply sublime as the enslaved class.

At the moment there is considerable consternation in the operatic world about the future of the Metropolitan. With the hiring of crossover king Peter Gelb as the new general manager, many fans and employees are concerned about the sustainability of quality and the direction of the repertoire at the venerable house going forward. There is absolutely no truth to the rumor, however, that this current production was mounted by the company as an object lesson about what might happen if the entire place were overrun by Philistines.

“Samson et Dalila” will be performed again February 24 & March 12 & 16 at 8 p.m., March 1 at 7:30 p.m., March 5 at 1:30 p.m., March 19 at 8:30 p.m. (Lincoln Center, 212-362-6000).