Salome Transmission Transcript

READ:  Akhmetshina show intro and throw to tape

AIGUL AKHMETSHINA:  Hello.  I’m Aigul Akhmetshina and I’m excited to be your host for today’s performance of Salome, the opera by Richard Strauss about one of the Bible’s most notorious heroines.  When Salome had its Met premiere in 1907, its shocking subject matter caused a scandal.  Audiences were outraged by the story’s mix of the biblical and the erotic, not to mention the violence.  Salome was banned from the stage after a single performance for the next 27 years.

As you will see today, in director Claus Guth’s new psychological thriller of a production, Salome still has the power to shock.  Salome is an incredible vocal showcase for the soprano who sings the title role and for the orchestra and conductor who take on Strauss’s massive score.  Here is our maestro, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

ROLL-IN B:  Salome feature

YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN:  I would describe Strauss’s musical world in Salome specifically as harmony or tonality that’s exploding.

ELZA VAN DEN HEEVER:  It’s extremely difficult to learn this musical language.  It’s an intense concentration.  However, now I cannot imagine my life without it.  I have this emotional connection to the role and this “I am She-Ra warrior princess” feeling when I sing it.  It’s so rewarding, I love it.

READ:  Akhmetshina show intro

AIGUL AKHMETSHINA:  Wow, it is so thrilling when a great artist has such a powerful connection to a role.  In addition to Elza van den Heever as Salome, today’s performance stars the great baritone Peter Mattei as Jochanaan or John the Baptist, the object of Salome’s obsession.  Tenor Gerhard Siegel is King Herod, Salome’s depraved stepfather who sets in motion the infamous Dance of the Seven Veils.

Director Claus Guth’s production was partially inspired by two chilling Stanley Kubrick films, Eyes Wide Shut and The Shining.  In this revealing new interpretation, Salome’s unspeakable behavior is unpeeled layer by layer.  Get ready for one hour and 45 minutes of hair-raising action.  Here is Salome.