Salome

For the past couple months, I have been reading up on my Strauss, the Richard version, for my program notes on his opera, Salome. Today was the actual production at the Wiener Staatsoper! Jane and I got all gussied up for our box seats - that is right actual seats! - and went to the opera at the same time as regular people, not three hours ahead like we do for standing room! Our seats were not as partial view as I had expected, since we got them for only ten euros, and if we stood up, then the small bit that we couldn't see sitting was visible. But just being in the box was a huge part of the fun, having our own private room for coats, and the velvet everywhere, that isn't worn down and old like the velvet in standing room!

I have to write a newspaper-esque critic as the second part of my assignment, and won't bore you with the details, but here is a short run down on the production. The set and costumes were Jugendstil with a very Klimtian feeling, probably to pay tribute to the major artistic movement at the time when Strauss was writing Salome. A bit overwhelming at times, it was effective and made for an absolutely beautiful set.

Salome was played by Christine Naglestad, a stunning soprano with incredible power and control. Her portrayal of Salome was spot on vocally, with a growling low G and chilling pianissimo upper register that contrasted sharply with her dramatic hich C which penetrated Strauss' giant orchestra with ease. Her dance for "Dance of the Seven Veils" left something to be desired, but was not too bad comparably. My only real disappointment was her treatment of Jokanaan's head, which she carried around stage like it was a feather. She really did not sell the fact that it was meant to be a human head.

The rest of the cast was fairly strong, except for Herod, whose vibrato was so large you had no idea what pitch he was actually singing. Overall though, this was one of the best productions that I have seen at the Staatsoper and probably my favorite show, which bodes well for the possibility of me writing about Strauss for my honors thesis next year!