Salome - Schedule, Program & Tickets

Text Hedwig Lachmann after Oscar Wilde
Opera in one act


Cast

Musical direction
Philippe Jordan

Staging
Cyril Teste

Artistic collaboration
Céline Gaudier

Stage
Valérie Grall

Costumes
Marie La Rocca

Light
Julien Boizard

Video
Mehdi Toutain-Lopez

Video - live camera
Rémy Nguyen

Choreography
Magdalena Chowaniec

Herodes
Gerhard Siegel

Herodias
Michaela Schuster

Salome
Camilla Nylund

Jochanaan
Iain Paterson

Narraboth
Daniel Jenz

Page
Patricia Nolz


Contents

In Salome, the composer Strauss confronts a princess oppressed by her stepfather with a captive prophet who recognizes in her not the desirable young woman but the traumatized child. However, when the prophet Jochanaan, whom Salome desired, rejects the young princess, she gets her stepfather Herod to have him beheaded.

Music: The hundred-minute one-act play glows like feverish delusions, the composer boldly exploded both sound and moral concepts of his time. To this day, the music fascinates with its enormous imagery, high emotionality and sharp, sometimes lurid figure drawing. Strauss not only portrays the decadently oppressive atmosphere of the royal court with an incredible orchestration art, which Salome's childhood has on his conscience, but also shows in a spellbinding way a differentiated diversification of the external and internal psychological events.

Direction: In his Salome direction, Cyril Teste wants to make Salome's energy and heartbeat tangible, visualize her traumata and fundamentally tell the family story of a powerful dynasty whose inner mechanisms must bring about what happens in the end: destruction.




ACTION

The Tetrarch Herodes celebrates his birthday in the company of a select group of guests. Two soldiers and the captain Narraboth guard the prisoner Jochanaan. Narraboth is in love with Herod's stepdaughter Salome. He ignores the bellboy's warnings. The voice of the prophet sounds from the dungeon. He announces the coming of the Messiah.

Disgusted by her stepfather's importunity, Salome leaves the table. She listens to the warnings of the prophet and would like to see him. She persuades Narraboth to go against the Tetrarch's express prohibition and grant her wish.

Jochanaan appears before Salome. Without paying her any attention at first, he accuses her stepfather of incestuous marriage to her mother Herodias. The strange man awakens Salome's longing and desire. She wants to touch his hair and body and kiss his mouth. Her rapture drives Narraboth to suicide. The prophet rejects Salome, saying there is only one person who can save her: Jesus of Nazareth. When Salome persists with Jochanaan, he curses her and retreats to his prison.

The Tetrarch appears in search of Salome. The warning voice of the prophet can be heard again. Herodias demands his handover to the Jews. Herod resists, considering Jochanaan to be a holy man, a view that provokes a heated argument among the Jews: while some see him as a charlatan, the Nazarenes revere him as a harbinger of salvation.

Herod asks Salome to dance for him. She agrees only after he has sworn to grant her every wish as a reward. Salome dances and asks for the head of Jochanaan. The horrified Herod offers her the most precious treasures, but Salome insists on her demand. Forgetting herself, she sinks into the sight of the severed head. When she finally kisses the prophet's bloody mouth, Herod orders her to be killed.



Due to the explicit depiction of violence and abuse that is clearly recognizable through associations, we recommend that you only attend the performance from the age of 16.

The young Salome actresses and their parents were accompanied throughout the rehearsals by the child welfare team of the Vienna State Opera. Together with the director, it was worked out how the subject matter dealt with in the play can be presented in a way that is suitable for children with the participation of young participants.



Subject to change.