Salome

Team

Conductor

Alejo Pérez

Direction, scenography and costume design

Ersan Mondtag

Lighting design

Sascha Zauner

Dramaturgy

Till Briegleb

Music dramaturgy

Piet De Volder

Cast

Salome

Astrid Kessler, Allison Cook

Herodes

Thomas Blondelle, Florian Stern

Herodias

Angela Denoke

Jochanaan

Kostas Smoriginas, Michael Kupfer-Radecky

Narraboth

Denzil Delaere

The Page of Herodias

Linsey Coppens

First Jew

Daniel Arnaldos

Second Jew

Hugo Kampschreur

Third Jew

Timothy Veryser

Fourth Jew

Hyunduk Kim

Fifth Jew

Marcel Brunner

First Nazarene

Reuben Mbonambi

Second Nazarene

Leander Carlier

First Soldier

Igor Bakan

Second Soldier

Marcel Brunner

A Cappadocian

Reuben Mbonambi

A Slave

Linsey Coppens

Orchestra

Symphonic Orchestra Opera Ballet Vlaanderen

Opera by Richard Strauss. Libretto based on the play by Oscar Wilde. Music drama in one act 1905, sung in German.

Herod lusts after his stepdaughter Salome and insists on seeing her dance. Salome longs to kiss the mouth of the imprisoned John the Baptist – a prophet of doom who loses himself in hate speech. In Strauss’ ‘scandal opera’, based on the play by enfant terrible Oscar Wilde, all the protagonists pursue the fulfilment of their own ego. Director Ersan Mondtag, who previously created flamboyant productions at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen such as Der Schmied von Gent (Schreker) and Der Silbersee (Weill), focuses on the political thriller in Strauss’ breathtaking work. He sees parallels between the historical Herod, vassal of the Roman Empire, and contemporary dictators such as Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko. They are completely dependent on a higher power to maintain their rule. However, revolutionary forces are intent on a total destruction of Herod’s decaden empire… With music director Alejo Pérez at the helm of the Symphony Orchestra, the new Salome also promises to reach musical heights.

Photo credit: Annemie Augustijns

Time

18. December 2024 – 18. January 2025