Oscar Wilde’s play Salome was conceived for the actress Sarah Bernhardt and was originally planned for performance in London, in 1892. The play was blocked by the sensor (it was forbidden at the time to depict biblical characters on stage) and so first given in Paris instead, in 1896. Wilde never saw his play performed, as he was serving a prison sentence for homosexual acts whilst the only two performances in his lifetime occurred. Subsequently the play gained popularity in Germany, and having attended a performance in Berlin in 1902, Strauss determined that this would be the subject for his third opera. First performed in 1905, Strauss’s Salome has gone on to become much better-known than Wilde’s play, and is regularly performed at opera houses around the world. This live recording was made at a performance at the Usher Hall, in Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival in August 2022. Edward Gardner and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra are joined by an outstanding cast of soloists, led by Malin Bystrom in the title role, Gerhard Siegel as Herod, Katarina Dalayman as Herodias, and Johan Reuter as John the Baptist.

Tracklist:

1. Salome, opera, Op. 54 TRV 215~Scene
2. Wie schn ist die Prinzessin Salome heute Nacht!. Ziemlich flieendes Zeitma
3. Salome, opera, Op. 54 TRV 215~Scene
4. Jochanaan! Ich bin verliebt in deinen Leib, Jochanaan!. Etwas ruhiger beginnend
5. Salome, opera, Op. 54 TRV 215~Scene
6. Tanz fr mich, Salome. Etwas ruhiger
7. Salome, opera, Op. 54 TRV 215~Scene
8. Salome’s Dance. Sehr schnell und heftig
9. Salome, opera, Op. 54 TRV 215~Scene
10. Ah! Du wolltest mich nicht deinen Mund kssen lassen, Jochanaan. Ziemlich langsam

UPC: 095115535622
Label: Chandos
Release Date: 5.16.25
Format: CD