Home > Salome Strauss, R. (1864-1949) Salome Composed 1904-1905. First performed December 9, 1905. Libretto by the Composer (in German), after Lachmann's translation of Oscar Wilde. A Summary of “Salome” Around 30 A.D., in King Herod’s palace in Jerusalem, Princess, Salome, who is a daughter of Herodias, and is the stepdaughter of Herod. King Herod killed his brother who is a father of Salome, and married Herodias who is the wife of his brother. Herod leered at Salome, so she escapes to the grounds when it’s a full moon. She heard a weird voice from beneath the ground. This voice is the prophet Jochanaan’s who was confined to an old well by King Herod. Salome is interested in this voice, and she orders Narraboth, who is a young captain of the guard, to open the cover of the well. Disregarding the fact that opening the well is prohibited, Narraboth opens it for the Princess. Jochanaan appears at the mouth of the old well. He condemns Herodias’s marriage to Herod. And, he is not interested in Salome at all. When Salome begs for Jochanaan's kiss, he returns to the old well. King Herod and Herodias also come to the grounds. Herod always leered at his stepdaughter, Salome. He orders her to dance, but she refuses to. Herod tells Salome that if she dances here for him, he will give her what she wants. So, Salome dances for Herod, and gradually sheds her seven veils. King Herod is satisfied with her dance, and asks her what she wants. Salome wants the head of Jochanaan on a silver platter. Herodias is pleased with Salome’s demand. But King Herod is afraid of killing the holy man. Herod tries to persuade her to give up her demand, but she refuses. Salome kisses the head of Jochanaan. King Herod sees that weird scene. He orders his soldiers to kill Salome. A Comment on “Salome” Richard Strauss was an active conductor in opera houses, and composed orchestral works or German songs. After R. Strauss composed two operas which are influenced by Wagner’s operas, he composed this opera, “Salome.” The first performance of “Salome” created a big sensation. R. Strauss was 41 years old at that time. After he composed “Salome,” he composed several other outstanding operas, and those resulted in him obtaining the status of a great opera composer. The original of this opera’s libretto is Oscar Wilde’s play “Salome.” Wilde’s play was published in French, and was translated into English. But, this play was never performed in England because of the immorality in the story and a scandal of Wilde himself. R. Strauss composed this opera which is based on German libretto. But, the same as the play, this opera was refused by Wiener Staatsoper where it was first planned to be performed. At that time, the general director of music at Wiener Staatsoper was Gustav Mahler, who is a famous composer now. Mahler went to great pains to have this opera performed in Wien. Ten years after the first performance in Dresden, it was performed in Wien. The most famous scene in this opera is Salome’s dance shedding seven veils. The Soprano who sings Salome, often takes off all her clothes on the stage to make the opera radical. This opera has given rise to public censure for about 100 years since the first performance. For example, when this opera was performed in the New National Theatre Tokyo in 2000, it was not only reviewed by music magazines but also reported by Tabloid papers. Salome must sing the long monologue after she intensely dances for more than ten minutes, so Salome is one of the most difficult roles for a Soprano. Gluck, C. W. (1714-1787) 　- Orpheus and Eurydice Mozart, W. A. (1756-1791) 　- The Marriage of Figaro 　- Don Giovanni 　- Cosi fan tutte 　- The Magic Flute Beethoven, L. v. (1770-1827) 　- Fidelio Weber, C. M. v. (1786-1826) 　- The Magic Bullets Rossini, G. (1792-1868) 　- The Barber of Seville Donizetti, G. (1797-1848) 　- The Elixir of Love Verdi, G. (1813-1901) 　- Macbeth 　- Rigoletto 　- Il trovatore 　- La Traviata 　- Un ballo in maschera 　- Don Carlo 　- Aida 　- Otello 　- Falstaff Wagner, R. (1813-1883) 　- The Flying Dutchman 　- Tannhauser 　- Lohengrin 　- Tristan und Isolde 　- Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg 　- The Rhinegold 　- Die Walkure 　- Siegfried 　- Twilight of the Gods 　- Parsifal Offenbach, J. (1819-1880) 　- The Tales of Hoffmann Strauss, J. (1825-1899) 　- Die Fledermaus (The Bat) Bizet, G. (1838-1875) 　- Carmen Tchaikovsky, P. J. (1840-1893) 　- Eugene Onegin Massenet, J. (1842-1912) 　- Werther Humperdinck, E. (1854-1921) 　- Hansel and Gretel Puccini, G. (1858-1924) 　- La Boheme 　- Tosca 　- Madama Butterfly 　- Turandot Leoncavallo, R. (1858-1919) 　- Pagliacci Mascagni, P. (1863-1945) 　- Cavalleria Rusticana Debussy, C. (1862-1918) 　- Pelleas et Melisande Strauss, R. (1864-1949) 　- Salome 　- The Cavalier of the Rose Copyright (C) 2005-2011 Yusuke Kamiki. All Rights Reserved.