Organization

Conductor

Leo Hussain

Stage director

Barrie Kosky

Set designer

Katrin Lea Tag

Costume designer

Lighting designer

Joachim Klein

Dramaturge

Zsolt Horpácsy

Singer

Soprano

Ambur Braid

Salome

Baritone

Nicholas Brownlee

John the Baptist

Mezzo-soprano

Claudia Mahnke

Herodias

Tenor

Michael Porter

Narraboth

Bianca Andrew

A Page of Herodias

Theo Lebow

First Jew

Andrew Bidlack

Second Jew

Magnus Dietrich

Third Jew

Andrew Kim

Fourth Jew

Bass

Alfred Reiter

Fifth Jew

Thomas Faulkner

First Nazarene

Sakhiwe Mkosana

Second Nazarene

A Cappadocian

Oper Frankfurt

Seung Won Choi

Second soldier

Chiara Bäuml

A slave

Matthias Wohlbrecht

Herod

Katharina Magiera

Gerard Schneider

Erik Van Heyningen

First soldier

Orchestra

Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester

Thomas Blondelle

AJ Glueckert

German

Frankfurt am Main

Germany

Opernhaus

Salome Strauss: Poster

Public

English

Approved

Salome Strauss

Salome is Herodias’ daughter and the Tetrarch Herodes’ step-daughter. His captain Narraboth goes into raptures about Salome’s beauty. The voice of the prophet Jochanaan, who's being held prisoner by Herodes, is heard, announcing the coming of Christ. Fascinated by his voice Salome asks the captain to bring Jochanaan to her, although this is strictly forbidden. The prophet laments Salome’s mother Herodias and her step-father’s iniquities. Salome falls in love with him: she wants to touch his body, his hair and kiss his mouth. Narraboth watches them and stabs himself in despair. But the prophet spurns Salome and damns her. Herodes is looking for his step-daughter. Narraboth’s death and the prophets words are giving him panic attacks and terrifying visions. Herodias, badly stung by Jochanaan’s accusations, demands that he be silenced. Herodes asks Salome to dance for him, to calm him down. Herodes has to swear to give her anything she asks for in return. After Salome has fulfilled her step-father’s wish, she asks for the head of the prophet. Herodes, believing him to be a holy man, tries to make her change her mind but, bound by his oath, he is forced to give in and has the prophet beheaded. Salome kisses Jochanaan’s mouth. Strauss’ 100+ minute one act opera exploded onto the world of music at a time of turmoil, the turn of the 20th century. Oscar Wilde, whose play inspired the composer to radical innovation, wasn’t the first to plump for the Salome story from the New Testament, but Wilde’s version concentrates on the clash between sensuality and religion: Salome demands the head of the prophet Jochanaan from her step father Herodes because he promised her anything she wanted if she would dance for him, and to pay Jochanaan back for not finding her attractive. Inspired by the fascinating text Strauss' increased his sound language to a never before heard intensity. He didn’t bother creating an atmospheric illustration of the text, concentrating instead on the conflict between Salome and Jochanaan, on their radical differences, making the worlds of love, and ideas of what love might be, collide in one enormous, inevitable climax. Director Barrie Kosky and set costume designer Katrin Lea Tag tell a love story entirely from Salome’s perspective: a production marked by concentration and breathtaking intensity.

Um eine aufwühlende Epoche, die Wende zum 20. Jahrhundert, geht es in Strauss’ hundertminütigem Einakter. Oscar Wilde, dessen Drama den Komponisten zu radikalen stilistischen Erneuerungen inspirierte, war nicht der erste, der sich des biblischen Salome-Sujets bediente. Doch bei Wilde zeigt sich die Geschichte als Zusammenprall von Sinnlichkeit und religiöser Askese: Die Prinzessin Salome fordert von ihrem Stiefvater Herodes den Kopf des Propheten Jochanaan, weil ihre Liebe unerfüllt geblieben ist. Unter dem Einfluss dieser faszinierenden Textvorlage reicherte Strauss seine Klangsprache mit einer bis dahin noch nie gehörten Intensität an. Er verzichtete auf eine atmosphärische Illustration des Textes und konzentrierte sich auf den Konflikt zwischen Salome und Jochanaan, auf die Radikalität ihrer Unterschiede. In einer groß angelegten Steigerung lässt sein Einakter Welten, Lebensentwürfe und Vorstellungen von Liebe aufeinanderprallen. Der Regisseur Barrie Kosky erzählt eine Liebesgeschichte komplett aus Salomes Perspektive: eine Deutung, die sich durch Reduktion und eine außergewöhnliche Intensität auszeichnet.

Deutsch

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble