Richard Strauss - Salome, op.54

[@irenemoews1410]

Wonderful Asmik Grigorian!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For me one of the very best.

[@TweedleDeedleyDee]

I'm shocked none of the commenters bemoaning the staging and costuming have realized at all that the suits are nor just contemporary fluff but a direct reference to modern orthodox judaism, rooted in the meaning of the story and setting. I'm not personally sold all the way on the concept (it feels somewhat like the person/s in charge have not fully considered each implication) but I appreciate the approach it makes in opposition of other recent stagings of the opera to actually engage some of the themes of religious zealotry and sexual repression/obsessesion

[@randyconnolly572]

This is very interesting! Could you elaborate a little bit on the references in the production to modern orthodox Judaism?

[@aziragoramo]

My favorite opera.

[@diepoldvoicestudios9814]

I've heard many Salomes at State Opera Vienna, since I was a cast member, there I did 4th Jew/Slave for quite some time there. Some performances alternating with Jörg Schneider ,doing these parts in this very performance in Salzburg. I heard Jones, Behrens and many more Salomes I can't even remember. Asmik is top of the heap in my opinion.

[@Nightmarigny]

This staging is so out there, but I don't hate it. It's working. And she's quite perfect. This will always be my #2 opera behind Elektra. *the staging for dance of the 7 veils is an atrocity though.

[@olracsobi8352]

I find Asmik Grigorian stratospheric!

[@gerardogreiner7361]

Grandioso Strauss, grandiosa Asmik.

[@karlzugvogel9438]

Stunning 👏🏻

[@themirandamusicproject1070]

Claude Maille I do regret that no any english subtitles are available here (same for Capriccio) . It's not so easy for non german speaking people to follow the opera libretto, (except the true connoisseurs and specialists.) . Anyway, Many thanks for sharing it ! ....you are welcome

[@alex669953]

You should try.. I was listening Parsifal the first time with the libretto.. And finally, I learned German.. It took me some years. If you love the music, you will understand the text. Be patient.. 😇👍

[@hadassahtannenbaum8828]

Keine Sorgen! Danke Schön!

[@puentemadera9145]

@@alex669953 No pensemos que el inglés es el único idioma

[@andre_santos2181]

I personally love Salome sung on french, but there is only one record, not even staged

[@0atommie1]

Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful production. To me Romeo Castellucci’s is the most compelling and convincing staging of Strauss’ masterpiece. I wish the silent opening scene (included on DVD) had been included in this broadcast. It helps explain the presence of the child Salome later on.

[@alex669953]

Découvert à 20 ans.. Il y a bien longtemps.. J'ai été conquis par cet opéra.. L'histoire est extrêmement puissante, cruelle, il fallait bien un Oscar Wilde et un Richard Strauss pour façonner livret, musique qui vous prend aux tripes.. Depuis hier soir je l'ai écouté trois fois d'affilée.. Comme autre fois deux fois l'intégralité du Rheingold sur LP.. Toute une nuit.. Quelle voix de Heldentenor celle de Jean le Baptiste.. Quelle chance d'avoir ce don.. Mille mercis pour ce partage ! Inutile de me faire écouter du Jazz ou du Rap.. Je m'en fous allègrement !

[@rodrigoorrego7866]

The regie is a bg Shit !

[@davidbastardo4154]

I have found that Salome is seldom ever well performed, let alone staged. This is a major exception to that rule.

[@tribonian3875]

Frankfurt this year is excellent.

[@willemventer741]

I find that people who think they know it all SELDOMLY do

[@tischapparat]

...beste mugge aller zeit-....beste stelle 1,42,30......

[@CatherineHurley-wk8ef]

(Checking the English translation, I think "mugge" is best translated as "gig" - a musician's term for a show, or a performance. 'Best. Gig. Ever!!" is how I would translate @tischapparat 's comment.)

[@kap9931]

One of the most successful images of opera Salome. Teresa Stratas had similar ones in 1976, Catherine Malfitano in a production with Terfel, and Elena Stikhina in the Mariinsky.

[@yusukeundisolde]

What do you think about the music itself?

[@kap9931]

@@yusukeundisolde music is perfect, especially parts of Iokanaan. In addition, opera reminds a little Wagner's Walküre's parts.

[@peteradaniel]

Least we forget Maria Ewing’s iconic performance at the royal opera house.

[@justinwilliamson695]

We should have a Salome production that takes place on the moon in the year 2300, because I believe that gets to the essence of what Strauss was writing about in this opera.

[@williamma8116]

Oscar Wilde wasn't getting to the essence of the Salome story in the Bible, Strauss was only partially getting to heart of Wilde's play. All subsequent artists have their own interpretations, whether that's the director, conductor, or singers. We shouldn't be so pedantic.

[@boonyboony100]

@@williamma8116 There are so many sides to the story, just as there are so many sides to Salome's/everyone's character.

[@michaelpapadopoulos5450]

❤❤

[@philippeengammare6253]

Dance of the seven veils, without veils and without dancing, not to mention that according to the libretto and the biblical mythology Salomé IS supposed to finish naked.

[@art7695]

The spectators will have gone home thinking they had shared an intellectual evening!. Director to kick

[@Dylonely_9274]

Yes children, this is opera !

[@EElgar1857]

No, it used to be opera; this was just pretend, directed by an idiot, and conducted by a jerk.

[@quequitoAR]

Asmick Grigorian is an accomplished artist; her commitment is always a guarantee. I don't disagree with the setting; perhaps too complicated sometimes, and with practical difficulties for the singers. The orchestra sounded so clean and safe, almost not Richard Strauss but the others Strauss...

[@robertsentieys6234]

WôôôôôW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 💖

[@soheil4757]

Brilliant.

[@romaastakhov]

Thank you wery much for the video! That's great! Can you please put the names of the soloists cast and details about the production? Thanks a lot

[@ricardosantos6925]

0:40

[@lifeisgood3087]

I am simply impressed at this grand production. Phenomenal.

[@jhxoxo2833]

44:13 46:22

[@andre_santos2181]

1:43:50 - The ending was a big let down. If Salome doesnt run in panick after Herod blunt order, the opera hasnt finished.

[@kap9931]

Здесь показано, что Саломея была готова принять смерть. Нигде у Уайльда не сказано, что она струсила после приказа Ирода. Хорошее решение режиссёра, на мой взгляд. Образ Саломеи крайне противен и так, ни к чему её в финале делать ещё и трусливой, как Иродиада.

[@marsaeolus9248]

@@kap9931 Exactement

[@philippebarbier79]

Asmik Grigorian et stupéfiante, et la mise en scène de Castellucci, comme toujours, d'une grande élégance.

[@knd1940]

The singers are superb but what's with John the Baptist's makeup? How could Salome keep a straight face when she rhapsodizes about his ivory complexion? The subtitles are very much appreciated!

[@art7695]

I don't understand what written in greek on the set. Someone can help? Thank you

[@rodrigoorrego7866]

Probably the name of the Regiesseurs dog !

[@AbnerIMAlvarado]

It says "Io" and "pro". Io is the name of a Greek heroine, pro means before. But I don't understand what those words mean in this context.

[@philippebarbier79]

@@AbnerIMAlvarado I guess it stands for "Jo(chanaan) der Pro(phet)"

[@AbnerIMAlvarado]

@@philippebarbier79 Exactly!

[@margrig2378]

Ιωάννης ο Πρόδρομος - John the Baptist

[@0atommie1]

Totally compelling production and singers. Castellucci’s opera stagings are so good. Das Rheingold in Brussels recently was very beautiful.

[@hugoaragor967]

Asmik, always the best, Castellucci, mmmmmm no way. Things that have to happen according to RS, never happen.... why this liberty of doing anything with everything? Absolutely out of Salome. A real pitty!!

[@keouine]

sounds OK. So sick of every production I see using late 20th century suits. So "been there done that" to re-set old operas or Shakespeare in modern times just to save money. It's not cutting edge if every opera co does this. It's dumb. To be shocking how about my suggestions: Bluegrass music in Roman togas? Mariachi bands dressed as Eskimos? How about Porgy and Bess dressed in Mikado costumes.

[@leocadieux6781]

Is it so hard to settle for the original story? The action of Salome is taken from the New Testament, during Antiquity...

[@circiter2411]

Not really... Wilde's version of Salome (which was trimmed, but not re-written, as libretto for the opera) is a heavily enriched (and fictionalized) version of the story in the Christian, Greek scriptures. The woman (Herod Antipas' wife's daughter--also his niece) is NEVER mentioned by name by either Mark or Matthew, the only two writers who register the incident with the Baptist (you will have already figured out, I hope, that in terms of historiography, the gospels do not really rank high in corroborated facts). Therefore, Wilde's and Strauss' narrative for the Salome story belongs in the territory of myth. Roman-Jewish historian Josephus does identify her by name, although her involvement with the execution of The Baptist is NOT mentioned by him. Furthermore, in no record from Antiquity is there any reference to the psychosexual core of Wilde's story: the sexual obsessions that crisscross the Wilde version (Narraboth, the page, Herod, Salome), nor is there any necrophiliac kiss, nor execution of Salome at the end. So, sticking to the Biblical story would render a very boring opera, indeed. What is this obsession with "original" stories, anyway? Thank the gods neither Homer, nor Aeschylus, Euripides or Sophocles, nor Shakespeare, nor Racine, nor Schiller, nor Verdi or Wagner, evers stuck to "original" stories. So, to answer your question, yes, it is HARD to settle for the original story.

[@leocadieux6781]

@@circiter2411 I’m happy for you if you are able to appreciate such stagings which move away from the story, I personally just can’t. It seems to me that it was clear that by "original story" I was not referring to the Bible but to the play written by Wilde and the story imagined and set to music by Strauss, a story clearly taking place during the Antiquity.

[@davidbastardo4154]

@@circiter2411 Fantastic reply. Indeed, no artist that has ever been worth a damn has "gone to the roots" of things. And Wagner's improvement over the rather stale and humanless Norse sagas should stand as its own proof of that.

[@robertschneck8583]

Is there anybody in the Salzburg organization who cares if the audience enjoys the production?

[@王联随]

In this opera in Salzburg，in the stage emerged the naked body of John the baptist ,He's More sexy than John's head.

[@thinhdinhvan3973]

Great oper performance

[@rodrigoorrego7866]

Shameless!!!

[@hsr.babY123]

Terrible. They even manage to bring the beheaded body, instead of the head. Worst production of Salome I ever had to endure.

[@davidbastardo4154]

There are many worse productions. I couldn't sit through either the Warlikowsky or the recent La Scala takes, placed in modern office buildings. Just horrible. At least Castellucci can use space well.

[@musicus9]

opera singers nowadays they dont act. they overact. it is so uncomfortable seeing them pretending to be in their role, but noone is here. they all try to make happen

[@carloMarti-qj9jq]

Pretty stupid to cut the dance sequence from this most well known opera. Gregorian is very good, indeed, but very stiff

[@0atommie1]

I felt it worked to contrast the dance with a static staging. Similarly the head of Jochanaan is absent, which emphasises perhaps the horror behind Salomé’s wish.

[@jcastano]

Why must we have these absurd and idiotic productions? Are the classic just so boring that we must contort them with such banal stagings that have nothing to do with the music and story?

[@philippeengammare6253]

In the 7 veils dance Salomé is supposed to dance and finishing naked. No danse here.

[@mikaelb7735]

No, thank you!

[@soapydesigner]

Tepid applause...

[@marquefan1]

Musikalisch sehr gut, aber kann mich fuer die inszenierung nicht begeistern.

[@hosh-08]

1:04:06

[@fmuscogiuri]

Good singers, excellent conductor, truly awful stage production. Shame on Salzburg Festival

[@art7695]

A worse set direction is impossible. Shame on Salzburg organization

[@adriand6883]

Agreed. I wouldn't mind these weird ones so much if someone would be making normal productions of Salome, but no one is today. I'm stuck listening to recordings and imagining better productions.

[@MichalReich]

and what would you imagine, a tale of Hansel and Gretel? When they cut someone's head off, that's where the blood really is ... deal with it

[@bbajdjwkmi]

Ask Calixto Bieito to direct the opera then lol

[@timothytikker1147]

Yes, I see what you mean. Lately I've been surveying Salome videos, skipping to Salome's dance, as an acid-test sample of the production. In other words, the degree to which it gets the dance right or wrong is indicative of how the whole opera has been treated. This one is definitely even worse than any other I've ever seen. And that's really saying something, because I have witnessed the most preposterous asininities committed with this dance. The whole point of the dance is that Salome does it so powerfully that it persuades Herod to give her whatever she wants. It has to set up his response immediately after: calling out "herrlich!" (magnificent!). It's bad enough when her dance is reduced to a lot of aimless wandering around stage, which is quite common, almost the rule anymore. It's also bad enough when, instead of a celebratory feast scene full of people, as is supposed to be the occasion in which this dance is performed, only three people are onstage, which I've seen now at least twice. I've even seen, more than once, productions in which the director obviously thought no more than "here's nine minutes of instrumental, so that's time to kill," then came up with action -- if it could be called that -- which was entirely irrelevant to the story. The idea that the dance had any dramatic function, let alone a crucial one, eluded them completely. But here (1) Salome doesn't dance AT ALL, so there is NO reason whatsoever for Herod to exclaim afterward that she danced magnificently; (2) Herod early on leaves the scene altogether, so he is in no position to comment at all on what she did or didn't do, let alone to be moved enough by it that he will give her whatever she wants. This only strengthens my resolve to boycott attending opera performances until this Regietheater foolishness is abolished... though, at this rate, it's entirely possible that the purveyors of this nonsense will instead succeed in killing opera altogether... which I actually believe is their true goal.

[@timothytikker1147]

@@MichalReichin the scene where Salome is supposed to dance, in this production she doesn't dance at all -- she doesn't even budge. And Herod, who is supposed to be so moved by the dance that he decides to give her anything she wants -- which is why he exclaims "herrlich!" (magnificent!) immediately after -- actually leaves the stage for most of this scene, so has no idea of what she has or hasn't done. The dance is supposed to have a key, pivotal function in the drama, but that has been completely annihilated here.

[@redelpe1]

The problem with these modern versions are they lack the decaying luxury and voluptuous decadence they are suppose to emit, and the Salome in this version has as little sex appeal as a piece of carved wood. Then the magical danse des sept voiles seem to be wasted on a wooden Salome all tied up. What a splendid Salome Rita Hayworth would have made with Charles Laughton as Herod.

[@kap9931]

Декаданса было с лихвой в эпоху модерн. Это новое прочтение не так плохо: здесь показана влюблённая, психически больная Саломея, а не обычная акселератка. Наверное, сложно после сплошных "Лолит" видеть сумасшедшую, мятущуюся душу.

[@rayoflightshines]

boring staging

[@Gareth-g8e]

I have to say that productions, like this one, are the reason I don't go to the opera anymore. I hate my intelligence being insulted, and this production?! did just that. What a lot of junk: non-existant everything. Oscar Wilde's stage.instructions blatantly ignored. The costumes were horrible, [were they supposed to be in a pandemic with those coloured mask-like designs on their faces?] The singing was fifth-rate. They should retire. Asmik Gregorian did so little that they should have made this a Concert performance, and her singing, of the closing scene, pushed her voice to it's very limit. Thank goodness for the Wiener Philharmoniker. Their playing was heaven. I wonder if the audience realised that they were being ripped-off?

[@florencionogalesmunoz2028]

Suerte que tanto la obra de Óscar Wilde cómo la maravillosa música de Strauss traspasan la inmensa estupidez de muchos directores de escena. Son un mal 👎🏽 para la humanidad y un insulto a los verdaderos artistas que tienen que doblegarse a las ansias por destacar pese a su escaso talento 😡 ¡Que asco!! 🤮 Luckily, both the work of Óscar Wilde and the wonderful music of Strauss go beyond the immense stupidity of many stage directors. They are an evil 👎🏽 for humanity and an insult to true artists who have to bow to the desire to stand out despite their limited talent 😡 Yuck!! 🤮

[@philipc67]

Revolting, insulting production. Stuff and nonsense. I was supposed to see this staging at La Scala in March 2020 but the pandemic cancelled everything. I wisely used the ticket vouchers for last October’s charming Barbiere. As for Asmik Grigorian? Good, no more. At least she sings on pitch…

[@themirandamusicproject1070]

The performance is indeed not the best, fortunately you did not miss anything!

[@leocadieux6781]

I agree, it's absurd. If I love this opera so much, it's not just because of the music: the story is interesting, and in this kind of production, the story no longer makes any sense...

[@circiter2411]

Revolting and Insulting was what the opera was called when it premiered... among other things. Both Wilde and Strauss were BANKING on the shock value of the piece, and the dramatic gestures at the beginning of the 20th Century drove audiences out of their seats, and the theaters, in bouts of sanctimoniousness. You want a Salome that breaks with THAT tradition, isn't that a bigger betrayal? You did well to change your tickets to Rossini's bourgeois entertainment piece (don't read me wrong, Barbiere is genius, if done well). I have the suspicion you would have been among those fleeing the performances when the piece premiered, had you been able to attend back then. Vocally, I agree with you about Grigorian. However, interpretively she is quite fascinating...

[@hadassahtannenbaum8828]

@@circiter2411 I love this performance. I don't mind the contemporary setting. Asmik Grigorian was glorious.

[@ryan.engstrom]

Poor singers…the death of opera everyone here it is

[@isaiasramosgarcia9771]

Jochanaan tenia unn cuerpo horrible

[@GarethRickards]

Absolute shite, except for the singing. An insult to Mr Strauss.

[@pierredurant5276]

a very bad conductor. too cleean and annoying.Salome has not a lot of strengh in her voice... stage direction is SOOOOOOO boring

[@georget.7348]

After watching this last night, I thought that perhaps the audience that paid THOSE PRICES was given in advance a book explaining that idiotic, stupid, narcissistic, convoluted staging that has Salome not moving at all during the DANCE of the Seven Veils, through her singing in a bathtub of what seems to be milk and ends with her singing those difficult lines in a cistern where I hope the water was warm. And what's with the horse? Jochanaan was not man enough and as a symbol of "toxic masculinity" so they have Salome kissing a horse? Or was that some kind of allusion to Catherine the Great nymphomania which allegedly was such that she had sex with a horse? And what about Jochanaan all covered in black paint and carrying some feathers on his head, was that an allusion to "what the Americans did to the Natives" and to the "Last of the Mohicans"? What's with these Europeans? I guess it's what Pope Ratzinger said a long time ago that "Europe is being taught to hate herself". It looked like there is no "concept" behind it and those punks that form the staging team just kept on competing to see who could come up with the most outrageous idea. I noticed that Narraboth stays on stage even after Herod says "Weg mit ihm" and only gets up a little later when two characters are singing that "Jesus rises the dead". Dreadful and I truly pity those singers who went along with this insanity and probably enjoyed it too. I understand many young singers like this kind of crap, at least Grigorian seems to have really loved it, good for her. I have to say that I was extremely impressed with her, voice, acting and a beautiful woman, she handles that murderous tessitura Strauss wrote with a lot of aplomb. I also loved the Jochanaan, great voice and when he finally showed his face, what a handsome man, makes you understand why Salome went bananas over him. The Narraboth was also truly sweet, ideal for this role, the young page was marvelous and I loved the Herodias, she reminded me of Regina Resnik but with even better high notes, a true mezzo with good high notes. The Herod is best forgotten. If Peter Gelb saw this, I am sure he will bring this Rocky Horror Show to the Met, it's right up his alley, no wonder the venerable Met, which he by the way inherited from "the Carpenter" with a SURPLUS, is now almost bankrupt. One of the best parts of the whole broadcast though was to see the public so extremely well dressed, the way it should be, as opposed to the once venerable Met where people go looking like they are homeless who were given free tickets by Peter Gelb in order to make the house almost sold out. And you should see the attitude of those homeless looking people in the lobby at intermission, they walk around like they are members of the House of Windsor, in spite of their rags and their smelly sneakers. MANY RESTAURANTS IN NEW YORK HAVE A DRESS CODE, THE MET DOES NOT.

[@Dylonely_9274]

1:40:08