Richard Strauss’s Salomé is one of opera’s most provocative works, centered on the biblical tale of Salomé’s sensual and macabre desires, which lead to the beheading of John the Baptist. The opera, with its infamous scenes—the Dance of the Seven Veils and the kiss on the severed head—shocked audiences when it premiered in 1905. Strauss’s bold, expressive music enhances the opera’s dark themes, combining oriental and orgiastic elements, and marking a key moment in his operatic career, paving the way for Elektra.
For this production, Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó reinterprets Salomé through a contemporary, psychoanalytic lens. Set in the luxurious penthouse of a modern Babylon, this staging replaces the ancient Galilean palace with a surreal, opulent setting where Herod’s family is torn apart by the threat of Jokanaan’s (John the Baptist) existence. The production features surreal and phantasmagoric tableaux, evoking a Buñuelian atmosphere.
