unrelieved

Michieletto’s “Samson et Dalila” staging was scheduled for New York in 2018 but was scrapped when Met general manager Peter Gelb concluded it was “somewhat unrelieved in its bleakness.”

Apart from the performances, which alone make the series worth watching, and the overall authenticity of the production, what to make of these eight hours of nearly unrelieved sadness?

Opening just as the area descends into months of unrelieved darkness, the six-episode season has an icy milieu and a female gaze forcefully distinct from the show’s past outings.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says inspectors documented “continued failure” to provide adequate veterinary care, “resulting in a state of unrelieved suffering for the identified animal.”

Scrutiny of Tuesday’s skies, in their unrelieved dimness, showed few of the bright delights of the season.