Director Claus Guth's new production of Richard Strauss' Salome opened at the Metropolitan Opera last night—and the reviews are in!
Soprano Elza van den Heever stars as the titular Princess of Judea, who courts disaster when she becomes smitten with the prophet Jochanaan (baritone Peter Mattei), who is being held prisoner by her father King Herod tenor (Gerhard Siegel). Mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and tenor Piotr Buszewski complete the principal cast as the Queen Herodias and the guard Narraboth. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts.
Read the reviews here.
BroadwayWorld (Richard Sasanow)
The Financial Times (Andrew Farach-Colton)
New York Classical Review (Rick Perdian)
The New York Times (Zachary Woolfe)
OperaWire (Francisco Salazar)
SlippedDisc (Susan Hall)
The Times (Kevin Ng)
Vulture (Justin Davidson)
The Washington Post (Michael Andor Brodeur)
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Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Guth leads a creative team that includes set designer Etienne Pluss, costume designer Ursula Kudrna, lighting designer Olaf Freese, projection designer Roland Horvath, choreographer Sommer Ulrickson, and dramaturg Yvonne Gebauer. All except Horvath are making their Met debut.
Salome marks Elza van den Heever's second Strauss role — and Strauss royal — at the Met this season, following a revival of Die Frau ohne Schatten this past fall, in which she played the Empress. She will be singing more Strauss with the Met Opera Orchestra in a concert at Carnegie Hall in June.
Much like the Oscar Wilde play from which it was adapted, Strauss’ Salome has long courted controversy. Its Metropolitan Opera premiere in 1907 was met with cries of “degeneracy,” with audiences and board members alike balking at its gruesome content. The opera was subsequently banned at the Met until 1934, when it was brought back to a more favorable reception, and it has been revived regularly ever since.
Performances of Salome continue through May 24. For more information, visit MetOpera.org.
Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Peter Mattei and Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Peter Mattei and Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
A scene from Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Gerhard Siegel and Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Gerhard Siegel and Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
Elza van den Heever in Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
A scene from Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
A scene from Salome at the Metropolitan Opera
