Germany Richard Strauss, Salome: Soloists of Hamburg State Opera, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Omer Meir Wellber (conductor). Hamburg State Opera, 7.10.2025. (DM-D)
Any theatre or opera production that decides to place the plot of the play or events depicted in the libretto in a specific historical context other than the one(s) specified by the writer(s) will be judged by whether the chosen context ‘works’. By this definition, Dmitri Tcherniakov’s production of Salome, first staged in October 2023, and now revived, works very well indeed. All of the opera’s characters were the guests at a birthday celebration, a formal dinner, at the home of Herod, the King. They sat for dinner at a well-presented long and elaborately laid-out table, in a well-presented, spacious flat, rather than a house or mansion, of the late-nineteenth century, judging by the elaborate costumes. Much of the wall space was covered with built-in shelves – not with books on them, but busts from different ages and cultures.
Narraboth’s praise of Salome’s beauty was a kind of after-dinner speech in honour of the princess – perhaps the function combined birthday celebration and debutante event. Jochanaan was the special guest, more in the sense of a curiosity than a guest of honour: he stood out from the rest of the assembled guests by hardly joining in any random conversation, and by wearing a corduroy jacket with leather patches over the elbows. Salome came across as a completely spoilt teenager, insecure in herself in general, a state of affairs aggravated by Herod’s unpleasant interest in her. She certainly did not follow the dress code for the party. She covered her face in white make-up, hid on one of the shelves and was ‘rescued’ from there by Herod, who undressed her and gave her a box with a new, turquoise coloured dress to wear: a striking way for the step-father to make his step-daughter enact his sick fantasies. With the number of busts on the shelves being enough of a reference to beheadings, Jochanaan left the stage at the end, alive, and Salome collapsed at Herod’s words ‘Man töte dieses Weib’, in a fit of convulsion. While some of the events thus depicted on stage did not make sense taken together with the libretto, the overall impact was still that of a strong story well told. Within itself, everything was consistent.
Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke combined beauty of voice with nastiness of character to equal measure. Doris Soffel’s vocal achievement was remarkable, especially given that she is now in her late seventies! Her current voice was more than convincing, rather than having to rely on the memory of spectators who may have seen and heard her many years ago. Oleksiy Palchykov brought his beautifully ringing tenor to the role of Narraboth. Kyle Ketelsen was particularly mellifluous as Joachanaan, making him an outsider in that crowd of party guests. Members of the Hamburg resident company, as well as members of the International Opera Studio were equally good and fit in well as the Jews, Nazarenes and Soldiers.
Central to the production was Asmik Grigorian as Salome. She returned to the role she had already sung in the original production in Hamburg in 2023. Praise for this singer has been considerable. She is indeed an exceptional artist, her voice beautiful throughout, with a wide range of nuances, from radiant top notes, a rock-solid grounding in the lower register, exciting instances of crescendo, long arcs sustained through precise breath control and moving moments of piano singing which still soared above the orchestra. Vocally, she was particularly able to express Salome’s emotions. Added to this there was an exceptional, incredibly powerful stage presence from beginning to end. This level of presence may perhaps not translate fully on CD, DVD or in live streaming.
Omer Meir Wellber conducted the orchestra with particular sensitivity to the melodic lines of Richard Strauss’s score, creating a unified soundscape which avoided the impression of intellectually well-crafted rather than intuitively created music.
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe
Featured Image: Asmik Grigorian and Kyle Ketelsen (Jochanaan) in the 2023 production © Monika Ritterhaus
Production:
Director and Stage design – Dimitri Tcherniakov
Revival director – Matthias Piro
Costume design – Elena Zaytseva
Lighting design – Gleb Flishtinsky
Video – Tieni Burkhalter
Dramaturgy – Tatiana Werestchagina, Janina Zell
Cast:
Herod – Wolfgang Ablinger Sperrhacke
Herodias – Doris Soffel
Salome – Asmik Grigorian
Jochanaan – Kyle Ketelsen
Narraboth – Oleksiy Palchykov
Page – Aebh Kelly
1. Jew – James Kryshak
2. Jew – Andrew Dickinson
3. Jew – Daniel Kluge
4. Jew – Mziwamadoda Sipho Nodlayia
5. Jew – Keith Klein
1. Nazarene – Nicholas Mogg
2. Nazarene – William Desbiens
1. Soldier – Hubert Kowalczyk
2. Soldier – Wilhelm Schwinghammer