2019
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
Beneath desire, depravity. Beneath lust, bloodlust. Beneath the veils, everything is laid bare.
In King Herod’s lurid fantasies, lust has no boundaries and desire no limits. Even his own stepdaughter tempts him, taunts him: Salome, the virgin seductress, an innocent with a taste for blood.
Strauss’ taboo-breaking opera strips back Oscar Wilde’s play to its core: a gripping journey to the outer edges of human behaviour.
The music is at once ravishing and repellent. Strauss augments an enormous orchestra with organ, harps and celestas. The effect is a web of exotic melodies, enticing rhythms and intriguing dissonance, famously on display in the ‘Dance of the Seven Veils’. Heard live, it is an unforgettable experience.
Lise Lindstrom is riveting as Salome, finding fragility and nuance in a role that demands a powerhouse voice and gifted actress.
| Conductor | Johannes Fritzsch |
| Director | Gale Edwards |
| Revival Director | Andy Morton |
| Set Designer | Brian Thomson |
| Costume Designer | Julie Lynch |
| Lighting Designer | John Rayment |
| Choreographer | Kelley Abbey |
| Salome | Lise Lindstrom |
| Herodias | Jacqueline Dark |
| Herod | Andreas Conrad |
| Narraboth | Paul O'Neill |
| Jokanaan | Alexander Krasnov |
| Page/Slave | Sian Pendry |
| First Jew | Virgilio Marino |
| Second Jew | Brad Cooper |
| Third Jew | Benjamin Rasheed |
| Fourth Jew | Tomas Dalton |
| Fifth Jew | Andrew Moran |
| First Soldier | Gennadi Dubinsky |
| Second Soldier | Ryan Sharp |
| Cappadocian | Alexander Hargreaves |
| First Nazarene | David Parkin |
| Second Nazarene | Christopher Hillier |
Please note: this production contains strobe lighting effects and adult themes; not recommended for children.
Running time: approximately 1 hour & 40 minutes, with no interval.
This production of Salome was commissioned by the Opera Conference, Australia’s national partnership of professional opera companies.
Opera for One
Salome is used to being wanted: by Narraboth, by her stepfather Herod, by anyone who sees her beauty. But the prophet Jokanaan does not want her – and he denies her advances forcefully. The prophet condemns the evil in Herod’s court.
Salome is incensed, and she uses Herod’s weakness to have her revenge on Jokanaan.