- Strauss worked on his third opera, Salome, from 1903 to 1905. The work premiered in Dresden in 1905. Strauss wrote the opera’s libretto, based on a German translation of Oscar Wilde’s play.
- Salome is one act long and runs less than two hours. Many were scandalized by the opera’s subject matter. The production was temporarily banned in London, and after its first performance at the Met in New York in 1907, the company refused to program it again for nearly 30 years.
- “Lust, incest, decapitation and necrophilia joined with sinuous chromaticism and dazzling orchestration to create a work that provoked simultaneous fascination and revulsion.”
- Despite the blowback, Salome proved to be successful enough to allow Strauss to build a villa in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.1
- Synopsis for Strauss’ Salome
- One of the opera’s most famous moments is the Dance of the Seven Veils, in which Salome dances for King Herod in exchange for the head of John the Baptist.
- The original Salome, Marie Wittich, refused to perform the Dance of the Seven Veils scene because it required both nudity and graceful agility, so a dancer stood in for her. This trend continued through the opera’s early years.2
Sources
- Bryan Gilliam and Charles Youmans, “Strauss, Richard,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 19, 2026, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040117.
- Wikipedia contributors, “Salome (opera),” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2026), accessed October 19, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Salome_(opera)&oldid=1380472309.
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40871 45339 20150