"One of the most important works of our age…" That’s how Mahler described Richard Strauss’s decadent opera Salome, adapted from Oscar Wilde’s play of the same name. At its 1905 premiere, Strauss’s opera was met with great success: the fiendish work created a scandal and attracted incredible crowds. This summer, Salome takes over the stage of the 2018 Salzburg Festival! The avant-garde stage director Romeo Castellucci joins forces with an all-star cast alongside the Wiener Philharmoniker and Maestro Franz Welser-Möst.

As the story goes, the sensual and obstinate princess Salome becomes enamored of the prophet Iokanaan (John the Baptist), who rejects her advances. Deeply insulted, she agrees to dance for her leering stepfather Herod in exchange for the prophet’s head on a platter…

"Ah! Ah! Why didn’t you look at me, Iokanaan? If you would have looked at me, you would have loved me. I know well that you would have loved me, and the mystery of love is great than the mystery of death. One should only look at love.” – Salome, translated excerpt from the original French text by Oscar Wilde.

Photo: © Ruth Walz