Salome

The 87th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Festival starts with a new staging of Salome by Richard Strauss, his first operatic masterpiece that established him in the theatrical field: on the podium Alexander Soddy and directed by Emma Dante.

The opera’s debut on 9 December 1905 at the Semperoper in Dresden was met with resounding success, bringing Strauss fame and honour. The literary source was Oscar Wilde’s play Salome, which the composer chose to set to music in Hedwig Bachmann’s German translation. The story takes place at the court of King Herod in Tiberias, where John the Baptist (Jochanaan) is being held prisoner in a cistern. The prophet’s voice attracts Salome, the king’s beautiful stepdaughter, desired by many at court, especially her stepfather, who has a morbid passion for her. The princess, feeling irremediably attracted to Jochanaan, tries in vain to seduce him and after yet another refusal decides to ask Herod for his head, who accepts only after Salome performs a very sensual dance of the seven veils. The girl's desire is thus fulfilled but the horror reaches its peak when Salome, in a necrophilic impulse, kisses the mouth of the beheaded prophet, a gesture for which she will be executed. Wilde's drama had attracted Strauss not only for the audacity of the theme treated, but above all for the presence of such tormented and neurotic characters that would have allowed him to create extreme music, capable of following the violent disturbances of Salome's mind and the turbid thoughts of Herod and his courtiers.

The disorder of the psyche finds a perfect counterpart in a musical score where the mammoth orchestra is involved in a tumultuous vortex of dissonances and where an agitated, hysterical vocality prevails, far from any lyrical impetus.

Synopsis

A great terrace in the Palace of Herod, set above the banqueting hall. Some soldiers are leaning over the balcony. To the right there is a gigantic staircase, to the left, at the back, an old cistern surrounded by a wall of green bronze. The moon is shining very brightly.

Narraboth gazes from a terrace in Herod's palace into the banquet hall at the beautiful Princess Salome; he is in love with her, and apotheosizes her, much to the disgusted fearfulness of the Page of Herodias. The voice of the Prophet Jochanaan is heard from his prison in the palace cistern; Herod fears him and has ordered that no one should contact him, including Jerusalem's High Priest.

Tired of the feast and its guests, Salome flees to the terrace. When she hears Jochanaan cursing her mother (Herodias), Salome's curiosity is piqued. The palace guards will not honor her petulant orders to fetch Jochanaan for her, so she teasingly works on Narraboth to bring Jochanaan before her. Despite the orders he has received from Herod, Narraboth finally gives in after she promises to smile at him.

Jochanaan emerges from the cistern and shouts prophecies regarding Herod and Herodias that no one understands, except Salome when the Prophet refers to her mother. Upon seeing Jochanaan, Salome is filled with an overwhelming desire for him, praising his white skin and asking to touch it, but he rejects her. She then praises his black hair, again asking to touch it, but is rejected once more. She finally begs for a kiss from Jochanaan's lips, and Narraboth, who cannot bear to hear this, kills himself. As Jochanaan is returned to the well, he preaches salvation through the Messiah.

Herod enters, followed by his wife and court. He slips in Narraboth's blood and starts hallucinating. He hears the beating of wings. Despite Herodias' objections, Herod stares lustfully at Salome, who rejects him. Jochanaan harasses Herodias from the well, calling her incestuous marriage to Herod sinful. She demands that Herod silence him. Herod refuses, and she mocks his fear. Five Jews argue concerning the nature of God. Two Nazarenes tell of Christ's miracles; at one point they bring up the raising of Jairus' daughter from the dead, which Herod finds frightening.

Herod asks for Salome to eat with him, drink with him; indolently, she twice refuses, saying she is not hungry or thirsty. Herod then begs Salome to dance for him, Tanz für mich, Salome, though her mother objects. He promises to reward her with her heart's desire—even if it were one half of his kingdom.

After Salome inquires into his promise, and he swears to honor it, she prepares for the "Dance of the Seven Veils". This dance, very oriental in orchestration, has her slowly removing her seven veils, until she lies naked at his feet. Salome then demands the head of the prophet on a silver platter. Her mother cackles in pleasure. Herod tries to dissuade her with offers of jewels, peacocks, and the sacred veil of the Temple. Salome remains firm in her demand for Jochanaan's head, forcing Herod to accede to her demands. After a desperate monologue by Salome, an executioner emerges from the well and delivers the severed head as she requested.

Salome now declares her love for the severed head, caressing it and kissing the prophet's dead lips passionately. Horrified, Herod orders his soldiers, "Kill that woman!" They rush forward and crush Salome under their shields.

Program and cast

RUNNING TIME

1 hour and 40 minutes

ARTISTS

Conductor: Alexander Soddy

Director: Emma Dante

Scenes: Carmine Maringola

Costumes: Vanessa Sannino

Lights: Luigi Biondi

Coreography: Silvia Giuffrè

Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra

Herodes: Nikolai Schukoff

Herodias: Anna Maria Chiuri

Salome: Allison Oakes

Jochanaan: Iain Paterson

Narraboth: Eric Fennell

Ein Page der Herodias: Marvic Monreal

Funf Juden: Arnold Bezuyen, Mathias Frey, Karl Michael Ebner, Franz Gürtelschmied, Karl Huml

Zwei Nazarener: William Hernandez

Zwei Soldaten: Frederic Jost, Karl Huml