Salome

Deeply moved by Oscar Wilde’s play, Richard Strauss changed the course of music history with his intense, frantic eponymous opera. The set is King Herod’s Palace; young Salome is infatuated and rejected by Prophet Jochanaan, and, desperate to kiss him at all costs, subsequently asks for his severed head. The expressionist libretto drawn from this mysterious plot is both sensuous and dramatic. As an object – and mostly a subject – of desire, Salome’s magnetic quality is gradually unveiled. The piece, written at the turn of the 20th century, reads like a discovery of the subconscious mind or an exploration of urges. The hypnotic score is replete with unique colours and sounds; Strauss pushed the very limits of music in his time, at the risk of breaking the norms. The lead must be sung by a mesmerising performer, both in terms of voice and presence. After being acclaimed in The Woman Without a Shadow, Irrelohe and Wozzeck, Ambur Braid embodies a strikingly ardent Salome in a production directed by internationally acclaimed artist Calixto Bieito and conducted by Constantin Trinks.

Language: German Surtitles French

Opera in 1 act and 4 scenes
Libretto by the composer, from the German translation by Hedwig Lachmann of Oscar Wilde’s play Salome
Premiered in Dresden in 1905
New production Opéra de Lyon
Coproduction with Opéra de Lyon,
Prague State Opera, and Theatres of Luxembourg City

Lyon Opera Orchestra

An opera by: Richard Strauss
Conductor: Constantin Trinks
Director: Calixto Bieito
Set designer: Anna-Sofia Kirsch
Costume designer: Paula Klein
Lighting designer: Michael Bauer

Distribution:
Herod: Peter Hoare
Herodias: Lindsay Ammann
Salome: Ambur Braid
Jokanaan: Josef Wagner
Narraboth: William Morgan
The Page: Barbara Skora (Lyon Opera Studio soloist)
1st Jew: Oliver Johnston
2nd Jew: Cătălin Pop (Lyon Opera Studio soloist)
3rd Jew: Filipp Varik(Member of the Lyon Opera Studio 2024 – 2026)
4th Jew: Camille Leblond
5th Jew: David Rother
Two Nazarenes: Stefan Petković (Lyon Opera Studio soloist), Miłosz Korendo
Two Soldiers: David Rother (Lyon Opera Studio soloist), Miłosz Korendo
A Cappadocian: Stefan Petković (Lyon Opera Studio soloist)
A slave: Déborah Salazar (Lyon Opera Studio soloist)

Running Time: 1 hour 45 minutes