Opera of the Week: Scandalous Jewish no-goodnik
OperaBased on Oscar Wilde’s play, Strauss’s landmark opera was greeted with shock, horror, excitement, awe, respect, censorship, scandal, condemnation – just the kind of responses that fill theatres and cinemas to this day, brought to Slippedisc subscribers courtesy of OperaVision. The music, sweet, sour, erotic, often dizzily thrilling, has not been blunted by time. This is no overture. A rising arpeggio on the clarinet launches Narraboth into his rapturous vision of Salome and, from there to the end, there is let-up in the intensity and tension of the score. Composed in 1905, Salome is still one of the wildest and most rewarding rides – at times of overwhelming intensity – to experience, and one of the most challenging in the repertoire for the lead soprano. It never fails to challenge the imagination of headlline writers. (Ours is borrowed from the New York magazine Forward.)
Sinéad Campbell Wallace singing the title role, complete with its 20-minute final aria that moves from animal frenzy to demented erotic yearning. Irish National Opera’s acclaimed new production is directed by Bruno Ravella and conducted by Fergus Sheil.
The Plot: a king who desires his wild and wilful step-daughter. Her erotic fascination with a condemned prophet. Salome is a study in obsessions, with lust and death at every turn.
Sung in German. subtitles in English and German.
Streamed at 1900 CET / 1800 London / 1300 NY
Anti-Jewish opera, composed by a card carrier, performed in the most Antisemitic country in Europe… Timely.
Very funny…. How could it be ‘anti-jewish’ when the story has been taken literally from the Old Testament, which is at the heart of jewish relition and culture?
Wrong Testament, genius.
Salome in the Old Testament a/k/a Hebrew Bible? It’s well known that there is nothing relating to John the Baptist or Herod or Jesus or Salome in that book. Methink your self-image of informed defender of Western Culture against the rude barbarians is kind of shaky, my dear Mr. Borstlap!
Oh, it seems my bible knowledge has slipped lately.
Fortunately there are only two testaments in the bible, as far as I know, and they both have only played a restricted part in the developments of Western Culture. The Salome story surely was not an essential contribution, given the barbarous content.
I am deeply sorry to have offended religious sentiments of some commenters here. I never want to hurt anybody’s feelings unintentionally.
Shy, you’re an idiot
I remember sitting in the front row of Salome and getting an eyeful of Patricia Racette going the Full Monty. I wish it was Karita Mattila though.
Mattilla (in the initial run) was an earful and an eyeful. I have to admit, however, that Patricia Racette was not a disappointment in the least. I was pleasantly surprised.
Rising arpeggio? Not sure the writer would pass their theory exams…
There is no clarinet arpeggio. It‘s a c-sharp minor scale. Just sayin‘.
So… no linking of SALOME to “Rhapsody in Blue” ?
C-sharp minor it is not
The opening notes (in concert pitch) are: G#-A#-B#-C#-D-E-F-G-G#, so no, not C-Sharp minor…
It is a disgusting story, of which the disgusting components are brought into relief by Wilde and Strauss, and the result is an apotheosis of disgust translated into gorgeous music. Amusingly, Strauss’ music always has spots of kitschy sounding commonplaces, but in Salome they are – by coincidence – entirely appropriate and functional, and thus, express the nature of goings-on on the stage very aptly.
With his visionary music, Strauss opened a cauldron of darkness, which had not been explored before in music, not even by Wagner. Pauline did not like it at all and tried to convince her husband to write more pleasant things. Nonetheless, Salome earned the Strauss couple their large villa at Garmisch.
When the opera was premièred in Paris at the time, Ravel attended, and said afterwards that he was taken along by the music as if by a storm, he was deeply impressed.
The cartoonist B Kliban summarized the story best this way
https://bsky.app/profile/benjclark.bsky.social/post/3kbo2dcohwk2l
One of your finest posts LOL
Has anyone in the comments actually watched this Salome?? Horrible staging and dance she only takes off her evening gown and gets wet and that’s it. Only that awful bloody head is any good.
The best Salome is still the 1974 Gotz Friedrich film with Teresa Stratas and Astrid Varnay. (it’s on Youtube)
Staging is ridiculous… set in the current Middle East to ensure that audiences will understand the plot.