Saint-Saëns thought the Samson story would make a good oratorio. He was persuaded by Lemaire to write an opera on the subject instead. When the opera was completed, Saint-Saëns met some stiff opposition about staging it in France. It was considered sacrilegious to stage a work based on a Bible story. Additionally, Saint-Saëns was considered a "symphonist" rather than an opera composer. People were not interested in "Samson". Liszt staged the work in Germany. It was a hit. It was soon staged in America and in England. 