Organization

Conductor

Simon Rattle

Singer

Tenor

Stig Fogh Andersen

Herod

Mezzo-soprano

Hanna Schwarz

Herodias

Soprano

Emily Magee

Salome

Baritone

Iain Paterson

John the Baptist

Pavol Breslik

Narraboth

Rinat Shaham

A Page of Herodias

Burkhard Ulrich

First Jew

Bernhard Brechtold

Second Jew

Timothy Robinson

Third Jew

Marcel Beekman

Fourth Jew

Bass

Richard Wiegold

Fifth Jew

Reinhard Hagen

First Nazarene

Andrè Schuen

Second Nazarene

A Cappadocian

Gàbor Brezt

First soldier

Wilhelm Schwinghammer

Second soldier

Orchestra

Berliner Philharmoniker

Simon Rattle conducts “Salome”

Berlin

Germany

Berliner Philharmonie

The oppressive, dark eroticism of Richard Strauss’s Salome has always delighted and disturbed opera fans. Often the wealth of nuance contained in the opera, from the finely balanced orchestration to the multifaceted character of the eponymous heroine is overshadowed. A masterpiece of atmospheric and dramatic intensity, Simon Rattle presented the work in the Philharmonie in 2011. The title role was sung by Emily Magee.

Simon Rattle conducts “Salome”: Salome Strauss,R

Public

Approved

Richard Strauss: Salome (final scene) / Emily Magee, soprano · Sir Simon Rattle, conductor · Berliner Philharmoniker / Recorded at the Berlin Philharmonie, 28 March 2011
The Berliner Philharmoniker's Digital Concert Hall:

Even the run of notes from the clarinets that starts Richard Strauss’s Salome suggests the erotic sultriness that with increasing intensity permeates the whole opera. And when a moment later, the captain of the guard Narraboth wistfully notes, “how beautiful the Princess Salome is tonight,” then you already suspect that this beauty will bring about the destruction of almost all the protagonists. The Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle presented this masterpiece of atmospheric and dramatic density at the 2011 Salzburg Easter Festival – and before that, in a concert performance at the Philharmonie.

“I’m sorry, I like him otherwise, but with this he will do himself a great deal of harm.” – this was the reaction of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who like so many of his contemporaries, could not deal with the dark eroticism of the work. The audience at the premiere, however, thought differently, with their jubilant applause resulting in no less than 36 curtain calls. This hysterical discussion for and against has long overshadowed the wealth of nuance contained in the opera, from the finely balanced orchestration to the multifaceted character of the eponymous heroine.

For the Berlin performance, the American soprano Emily Magee made her role debut as Salome. She is particularly well-known in the great opera houses of the world, from the Royal Opera House in London to the Bayreuth Festival, as a singer of Wagner and Strauss. In addition to the male leading roles – Stig Andersen as Herod and Iain Paterson as Jochanaan – the role of Herodias was sung by Hanna Schwarz, an outstanding mezzo whose work with the Berliner Philharmoniker goes back to 1973.

English

Simon Rattle conducts “Salome” by Strauss, From (2011/2011), Conductor Simon Rattle, Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Ensemble

Programme, About & Synopsis

Videos

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues