(Credit: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) On April 28, 2025, the Metropolitan Opera opened a new production of Strauss’ “Salome.” At the center of the highly anticipated performance was the debut of internationally-renowned director Claus Guth, who has built a name of edgy reimaginings of classic works. It was also the first new production of “Salome” at the Met since {…}
(Credit: Evan Zimmerman / Met Opera) The Metropolitan Opera’s 2024–25 Live in HD season is set to continue with a new production of Strauss’ “Salome.” The transmission will be held on May 17, 2025 with soprano Elza van den Heever starring in the title role, alongside baritone Peter Mattei as Jochanaan. They will be joined by mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Herodias, alongside tenor Gerhard Siegel as {…}
(Credit: Michele Monasta) On April 13, Strauss’ “Salome” will open at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in a new production by Emma Dante and will be broadcast on Rai 5 and Rai Radio 3. The production will open the 87th Festival of teh Maggio Musicale and will be conducted by Alexander Soddy. Lidia Fridman will sing the title role in her {…}
(Picture Credit @Wonge Bergmann) What happens when opera is pushed to the far reaches of the socially acceptable, artistically expected, narratively conventional, and formally structured? You end up with controversial productions, reconstructed variations of well-known stories, and strange configurations of unknown ones. One may remember what happened not so long ago with Stutgart’s “Sancta Susanna” or, longer ago, Adams’ “The {…}
(Credit: Natalia Mentugova) The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has announced a cast change for its upcoming production of Strauss’ “Salome.” The company said that Lidia Fridman will sing the title role of in the opera that will open the company’s 87th Festival del Maggio Fiorentino. Fridman will replace Allison Oakes, who due to illness is unable to perform in the production. Fridman {…}
Atom Egoyan‘s “Seven Veils” is an ambitious film. Set in Toronto, it follows Jeanine, a theater director doing a revival of “Salome” at the Canadian Opera Company. As she digs deeper into the production, created by her former mentor, Jeanine is faced with some of her past traumas uniting “reality” with the theatrical. The film delves deep into Jeanine’s psychology {…}
The Metropolitan Opera is set to present a new production of Strauss’ “Salome.” The opera opens on April 29 marking the first new Met production of the opera in more than 20 years. Claus Guth directs the production with an acclaimed cast that includes Elza van den Heever and Peter Mattei who reunite on the Met stage following Berg’s “Wozzeck” during {…}
(Photo: Agnese Zeltiņa | Files.fm.) I’m not generally given to elaborating on opera plots; preferring for the audience to discover them for themselves, even where the outline of the tale is fairly well known. Alas, I feel somewhat compelled to at least superficially proffer some brief abridgement of “Salome,” if only to illustrate and accentuate the bizarre, outlandish and frequently {…}
Malmö Opera is set to live stream “Salome” on March 9, 2025. The showcase will star Laura Wilde in the title role alongside Lars Cleveman as Herod, Karin Lovelius as Herodias, and Kostas Smoriginas as Jochanaan. Other cast members include Conny Thimander, Mathilda Bryngelsson, Carl Rahmqvist, Tor Lind, Rickard Söderberg, Fredrik Hagerberg, Joel Kyhle, Magnus Lindegård, Darko Neshovski, Caspar Engdahl, {…}
(Credit: Wiener Staatsoper) The Wiener Staatsoper has announced a cast change for its September run of Strauss’ “Salome.” The company said that Vida Miknevičiūtė will sing the title role on Sept. 21 and Jennifer Holloway will sing it on Sept. 23 and 25, 2024 replacing Simone Schneider, who was originally scheduled. Miknevičiūtė has performed the opera at the Victorian Opera, Bolshoi {…}
(Photo: Charles Duprat / Opéra National de Paris) Whether you liked it or not, Lydia Steier’s “Salome” was the event of last season. Bleeding bodies, shooting guns, nudity, and rape; it was an R-rated “Salome.” Its provocations echoed both Wilde’s spirit and current discussions of gender, capitalism, and harassment. In this revival, the story is a bit different. The true {…}