Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. It was first performed at the Hofoper in Dresden on December 9, 1905. Salome, Salomea or Salomé can refer to: // Salome Alexandra (ruled 76-67 BCE), Queen of Judea Salome, (c. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. ... This article is about the German composer of tone-poems and operas. ... Antonio Ghislanzoni, nineteenth century Italian librettist. ... One of the illustrations Aubrey Beardsley produced for the first English edition of Wildes play Salome (1894) Salome (or in French: Salomé) is a tragedy by Oscar Wilde The original 1891 version of the play was in French. ... Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and author of short stories. ... Dresden (Sorbian: Drježdźany; etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Czech: ) is the capital city of the German Federal Free State of Saxony. ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ...

The opera is famous (at the time of its release, infamous) for its Dance of the Seven Veils. Salome is performed frequently and there are various recordings of it. In several areas of Western culture, the Dance of the Seven Veils (usually described as danced by Salomé) is one of the elaborations on the historical and biblical tale of the execution of John the Baptist. ...

Roles

is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar). ... Ernst Edler von Schuch (born 23 November 1846 in Graz, died 10 May 1914 in Dresden) was a German conductor. ... Herod was the name of several members of the Herodian Dynasty of Roman Iudaea Province: Herod the Great (c. ... A tenor is a singer with a voice range from approximately C3 (one octave below middle C) to A4 (above middle C) in choral music, or to tenor C (C5, one octave above middle C) or higher in operatic music (see voice type). ... Herodias (c. ... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that... Look up soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the hip-hop producer with the same name, see John the Baptist (producer). ... Baritone (French: ; German: ; Italian: ) is most commonly the type of male voice that lies between bass and tenor. ... In music, an alto or contralto is a singer with a vocal range somewhere between a tenor and a mezzo-soprano. ... A bass (or basso in Italian) is a male singer who sings in the deepest vocal range of the human voice. ...

Orchestration

Strauss scored Salome for a large orchestra (even larger than Wagner's, but was very specific about how many instruments should play each part. In the strings there are 16 first and 16 second violins, 10-12 violas, 10 violoncellos and 8 double basses. The woodwinds include 3 flutes, 1 piccolo, 2 oboes, 1 cor anglais, 1 Heckelphone, 1 Eb clarinet, 2 Bb clarinets, 2 A clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 3 bassoons and a contrabassoon. The brass section contains 6 horns, 4 trumpets, 4 Trombones, and 1 Tuba. The exceptionally large percussion section (requiring 8-9 players) contains 4 large kettledrums, a small kettledrum, a triangle, a pair of cymbals, a side drum, a tamtam, a bass drum, a tambourine, a xylophone, castanets and a carillon or glockenspiel. The orchestra is completed with 2 harps, a celesta, a harmonium and organ (the last two offstage). Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as they were later called). ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... The viola (French, alto; German Bratsche) is a bowed string instrument. ... Alternate meaning: Cello web browser A cropped image to show the relative size of a cello to a human (Uncropped Version) The cello (also violoncello or cello) is a stringed instrument and part of the violin family. ... Side and front views of a modern double bass with a French bow. ... The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... The piccolo is a small flute. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... The cor anglais, or English horn, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the woodwind family. ... Heckelphone The heckelphone is a musical instrument invented by Wilhelm Heckel and his sons, introduced in 1904. ... Two soprano clarinets: a B♭ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. ... The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers and occasionally even higher. ... This is a contrabassoon. ... The horn (popularly known also as the French horn) is a brass instrument decended from the natural horn that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the French horn, trombone, baritone, euphonium, and tuba. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched of brass instruments. ... Timpani for the instument. ... Timpani for the instument. ... An old-fashioned triangle, with wand (beater) Angelika Kauffmann: LAllegra, 1779 The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. ... It is also possible that you want to know about the Cymbalum instrument. ... The snare drum or side drum is a tubular drum made of wood or metal with skins, or heads, stretched over the top and bottom openings. ... This article needs cleanup. ... A bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. ... “Buben” redirects here. ... Kulintang a Kayo, a Philippine xylophone The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia. ... Renoirs 1909 painting Dancing girl with castanets Castanets A castanet is a percussion instrument (idiophone), much used in oriental (Moorish and Ottoman music), Roman music, Spanish music and Latin American music. ... You may be looking for Carillion plc The Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia, USA. A carillon (Dutch: ) is a musical instrument composed of at least 23 cup-shaped bells played from a baton keyboard using fists and feet (such an instrument with fewer than this number of bells is known... Most orchestral glockenspiels are mounted in a case. ... The harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. ... French type, four-octave Celesta The Celesta (IPA ) is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. ... A Harmonium is a free-standing musical keyboard instrument similar to a Reed Organ or Pipe Organ. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany The organ is a keyboard instrument played using one or more manuals and a pedalboard. ...

Synopsis

Olive Fremstad holding the head of John the Baptist in the Metropolitan Opera's 1907 production of Salome by Richard Strauss

Time: A moonlit night in the First century AD.

Place: A great terrace in Herod's palace at Tiberias on Lake Galilee, Judea.

Narraboth gazes from the terrace into the banquet hall at the beautiful Princess Salome. The voice of the prophet Jochanaan is heard from his prison in the palace cistern; Herod fears him. Image File history File linksMetadata Fremstad_Salome_1907. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Fremstad_Salome_1907. ... Olive Fremstad holding the head of John the Baptist in the Metropolitan Operas 1907 production of Salome by Richard Strauss Olive Fremstad (14 March 1871 - 21 April 1951) was the stage name of Anna Olivia Rundquist, a celebrated Swedish-American mezzo-soprano and soprano opera singer. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, the lead section of this article may need to be expanded. ... This article is about the German composer of tone-poems and operas. ... Hebrew טבריה (Standard) Teverya Arabic طبرية Government City District North Population 39 900 (a) Jurisdiction 10 000 dunams (10 km²) Tiberias (British English: ; American English: ; Hebrew: , Tverya; Arabic: , abariyyah) is a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Lower Galilee, Israel. ... The Sea of Galilee with the Jordan River flowing out of it to the south and into the Dead Sea The Sea of Galilee is Israels largest freshwater lake, approximately 53 kilometers (33 miles) in circumference, about 21 km (13 miles) long, and 13 km (8 miles) wide; it... Map of the southern Levant, c. ...

Tired of the feast and its guests, Salome flees to the terrace. When she hears Jochanaan cursing her mother (Herodias), Salome's curiosity is piqued. The palace guards will not honor her petulant orders to fetch Jochanaan for her, so she teasingly works on Narraboth to bring Jochanaan before her. Despite the orders he has received from Herod, Narraboth finally gives in after she promises to do some things for him.

When she see Jochanaan, Salome is filled with an overwhelming desire to touch him, but he rejects her. She begs for a kiss, and Narraboth, who cannot bear to hear this, kills himself. As Jochanaan is returned to the well, he preaches salvation through the Messiah.

Herod enters, followed by his wife and court. He slips in Narraboth's blood and starts hallucinating. He hears the beating of wings. Despite Herodias' objections, Herod stares lustfully at Salome, who rejects him. Jochanaan harasses Herodias from the well, calling her incestuous marriage to Herod sinful. She demands that Herod silence him. Herod refuses, and she mocks his fear. Five Jews argue concerning the nature of God. Two Nazarenes tell of Christ's miracles; at one point they bring up the raising of Lazarus from the dead, which Herod finds frightening.

Herod asks for Salome to eat with him, drink with him; indolently, she twice refuses, saying she is not hungry or thirsty. Herod then begs Salome to dance for him, Tanz für mich, Salome, though her mother objects. He promises to reward her with her heart's desire — even if it were one-half of his kingdom.

After Salome inquires into his promise, and he swears to honor it, she prepares for the Dance of the Seven Veils. This dance, very oriental in orchestration, has her slowly removing her seven veils, until she lies naked at his feet. Salome then demands the head of the prophet on a silver platter. Her mother cackles in pleasure. Herod tries to dissuade her with offers of jewels, rare birds, and the sacred veil of the Temple. Salome remains firm in her demand for Jochanaan's head, forcing Herod to concede to her demands. After an orchestral interlude, the head of the prophet is brought up out of the well and presented to Salome as she requested. In several areas of Western culture, the Dance of the Seven Veils (usually described as danced by Salomé) is one of the elaborations on the historical and biblical tale of the execution of John the Baptist. ...

In one of the most voluptuously gorgeous musical love scenes ever written, Salome makes love to the severed head, finally kissing the prophet's lips passionately. The terrified and superstitious Herod then orders his soldiers to kill Salome.

The role of Salome

The vocal demands are the same as those of an Isolde or Brünnhilde, with the impossible demand that she should look and behave like a sixteen-year-old prima ballerina. Ljuba Welitsch, Birgit Nilsson, Montserrat Caballé, Anja Silja, Phyllis Curtin, Karan Armstrong, Teresa Stratas (on film), Dame Gwyneth Jones, Marisa Galvany, Catherine Malfitano, Karita Mattila, and most recently, Deborah Voigt are among the most memorable of the last half-century. In the Arthurian Legend of Tristan and Iseult (alternatively Isolde, Isode, Isotta, etc. ... Sigurd and Brynhilds funeral In Norse mythology, Brynhildr was a shieldmaiden and a valkyrie. ... Ljuba Welitsch (1913 - 1996) was a celebrated Austrian soprano, born in Bulgaria, who sang in opera. ... Birgit Nilsson Birgit Nilsson (May 17, 1918 – December 25, 2005) was a great Swedish soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works. ... Montserrat Caballé Maria de Montserrat Viviana Concepción Caballé i Folc, better known as Montserrat Caballé (born April 12, 1933), is a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano renowned for her bel canto technique and her interpretations of the roles of Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. ... Anja Silja, German soprano, born April 17, 1940 in Berlin. ... Phyllis Curtin (born December 3, 1921) is an American soprano. ... Karan Armstrong, born in Havre, Montana, on December 14, 1941, is an American soprano. ... Teresa Stratas (b. ... Well-known people named Gwyneth Jones include: Gwyneth Jones (novelist) Gwyneth Jones (opera singer) Gwyneth Jones (North Walian) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Marisa Galvany (née Myra Beth Genis, on June 19, 1936, in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American soprano of note. ... Catherine Malfitano (born 18 April 1948) is an American operatic soprano. ... Karita Mattila Karita Mattila (born September 5, 1960 in Somero, Finland), is a leading opera soprano. ... The American soprano Deborah Voigt (August 4th, 1960 – ) is a well known opera singer. ...

As for the title role's required vocal-range, it is an extraordinary case: The highest note is the high B, not irregular for a soprano or mezzo-soprano to sing - while the lowest note is a low G-flat, in the alto-range and officially below the standard range for a mezzo-soprano. Considering this range, which is similar to many mezzo roles such as Carmen and Amneris, one might assume that a high soprano was not essential to the piece, but they are; most of the relatively low sopranos who attempted this role found themselves straining their voices throughout the opera, and having reached the closing scene (the most important part of the opera, regarding the title role) were very fatigued. This role is the classic example of the difference between tessitura and absolute range: While mezzos can perform a high note (like Carmen), or even temporarily sustain a high tessitura, it is impossible for a singer to spend such a long time (with the needed strength and breath-control) in the second octave above the middle C unless she is a high soprano. Moreover, the low G-flat occurs twice in the opera, and in both cases it is in pp, more of a theatrical effect than music and can be growled instead of sung. The other low notes required are no lower than low A-natural, and they are also quiet.

At the end of the Dance of the Seven Veils, some sopranos (or their stand-ins) wear a body stocking under the veils. However, in some performances, Malfitano, Mattila, and Maria Ewing have opted not to wear one. Catherine Malfitano (born 18 April 1948) is an American operatic soprano. ... Karita Mattila Karita Mattila (born September 5, 1960 in Somero, Finland), is a leading opera soprano. ... Maria Ewing (born 1950) is an American mezzo soprano opera singer. ...

See also

• Succès de scandale

This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

External links

• Salomé in Low Land A ten minute animated version in videogame style starring Birgit Nilsson (a modern pixel opera)