Richard Strauss’ one-act play salome was a triumph without reservations in 2017, a performance that attracted the public and criticism en masse. It was the kind of success that is rare, with a top cast, a direct hit by Ivo van Hove and an excelling Concertgebouw Orchestra under Daniele Gatti, the then-unexpired chief conductor. The Dutch National Opera is now reviving the production under a completely different star, not only with other soloists and a different orchestra, but above all: without decor and direction, in a concert performance, for a hall of which only 415 seats could be filled.
The good news is that salome is still a particularly intense performance. Soprano Doris Soffel (Herodias, Salome’s mother) was the only one to reprise her role, with mischievous looks, ditto smiles and a single gruesome swipe. Soprano Jennifer Holloway had the somewhat thankless task of following in the footsteps of her sensational predecessor, Malin Byström, in the title role. With her versatile, high-powered radiant sound and subdued playing, Holloway portrayed a believable Salome, more of an aggrieved teenager in a diseased environment than a femme fatale. Tenor Thomas Blondelle was in his element as the false neurotic horny Herod, torn between delusions and lust, who continues to beg and flatter and threaten to the bitter end to dissuade his stepdaughter Salome from her unholy wish: Jochanaan’s head. on a silver platter.
Also read: Already legendary performance of opera ‘Salome’: timeless, bloody and magical
Strauss specialist
Herod had promised his stepdaughter that she would give her what she wanted, as long as she danced for him. The Dance with the Seven Veils was a beautifully constructed sublimation of gut feelings, with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, not in the box but on stage, full in the spotlight. It was led by Cornelius Meister, a Strauss specialist who clearly enjoyed his DNO debut. He made the orchestra toss and shudder and always gave the singers space.
Baritone Brian Mulligan was a completely different kind of Jochanaan than the intimidating hooligan appearance of Evgeny Nikitin five years ago: rather timid, otherworldly, a man who himself seems overwhelmed by his prophecies and whose words take on wings. Mulligan’s calmly possessed, intensifying lecture set the tone: Faced with Salome’s advances, his faith grew, his rejection hardened, he became more and more himself. Similarly, the invisible seized Salome, as she clung in love but despairingly to her frenzied request for Jochanaan’s head: her power to make the unimaginable possible filled her and terrified her. You saw it in Holloway’s facial expression, but above all she showed it.