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
N.N., 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.