Salome in Vienna
I am in Vienna for Richard Strauss’s Salome. First surprise: this is being performed not at the Staatsoper but the Volksoper where lighter works are generally offered. Second surprise: this is not a home-grown production but the recreation of a famous staging by the Frenchman Luc Bondy given at the 1992 Salzburg Festival. Third surprise: the principal roles are cast not from the Volksoper company but from first-rate international singers.
Let me begin with the latter. In the title role, Astrid Kessler was outstanding both musically and dramatically. Her sumptuous soprano soared above the rich orchestral sounds (about which more later) and her reiterated whining plea to kiss the mouth of Jochanaan had a cutting edge. Physically, she was lithely seductive and agile as well as youthfully provocative and the dance of the seven veils was remarkably convincing. As John the Baptist, Finnish baritone Tommi Hakala impressed with the power, colour and conviction necessary for this demanding part, a performance which brought back nostalgic memories of his unexpected, but totally justified, triumph as BBC Cardiff Singer of the Year in 2003. Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, for many years the leading German character tenor, was a most convincing Herod, not the least because the portrayal did not descend into caricature but rather retained some vestiges of humanity, and vocally was full-toned, avoiding the oft-encountered exaggerated falsetto. Ursula Pfitzner was the restrained Herodias and Kunho You the mellifluous Narraboth.
In the pit Omer Meir Wellber led a powerful, evocative rendering of Strauss’s extraordinary score. Yet herein lay also a problem, because at times it overw helmed the singers on the stage and seemed too loud for the size of the theatre, thus failing to gel with the chamber-like focus of the drama.
We too seldom encounter revivals of vintage famous productions – a rare exception was the Pelléas of Ruth Berghaus at the Berlin Staatsoper (see my blog http://www.anthonyogus.co.uk/?s=berghaus?) – and that is a pity, because reexperiencing the less radical, less politically orientated, interpretations of yesteryear can help to reestablish the central themes of a work. So it is, with Bondy’s Salome. By distancing from the historical and social/political context, playing the piece essentially as a family drama and concentrating on the core moral content, the director forced us, the spectators, to confront vital questions of tolerance. No doubt many of us begin by identifying or sympathising with the independence of spirit and free-wheeling behaviour of Herod’s stepdaughter. But, as the drama develops, and her desires descend into depravity, ambivalence sets in and we have to recognise that there are limits to what is morally acceptable. And is this not an important and welcome perspective for many of the dilemmas which we face in the twenty-first century?
In the pit Omer Meir Wellber led a powerful, evocative rendering of Strauss’s extraordinary score. Yet herein lay also a problem, because at times it overwhelmed the singers on the stage and seemed too loud for the size of the theatre, thus failing to gel with the chamber-like focus of the drama.
We too seldom encounter revivals of vintage famous productions – a rare exception was the Pelléas of Ruth Berghaus at the Berlin Staatsoper (see my blog http://www.anthonyogus.co.uk/?s=berghaus?) – and that is a pity, because reexperiencing the less radical, less politically orientated, interpretations of yesteryear can help to reestablish the central themes of a work. So it is, with Bondy’s Salome. By distancing from the historical and social/political context, playing the piece essentially as a family drama and concentrating on the core moral content, the director forced us, the spectators, to confront vital questions of tolerance. No doubt many of us begin by identifying or sympathising with the independence of spirit and free-wheeling behaviour of Herod’s stepdaughter. But, as the drama develops, and her desires descend into depravity, ambivalence sets in and we have to recognise that there are limits to what is morally acceptable. And is this not an important and welcome perspective for many of the dilemmas which we face in the twenty-first century?nd we have to recognise that there are limits to what is morally acceptable. And is this not an important and welcome perspective for many of the dilemmas which we face in the twenty-first century?