When »Salome« finally had its world premiere in Dresden in 1905 – after the director of the Vienna Court Opera, Gustav Mahler, tried to push for its own opening at all costs – it caused quite the scandal: »Salome« was met with censorship and banned at the Vienna State Opera for many years. In this electrifying and fascinating work, Strauss lets a young princess’ sexual awakening collide with the ascetic religious truth of a prophet. The one-act opera lasting a mere 100 minutes is a seething delirium in which the composer courageously breaks with everything previously known: from moral concepts to sound. To this day, the music continues to captivate the listener with its rich imagery, ecstatic emotionality and sharp, sometimes garish character depictions. The current staging juxtaposes Old Testament history with the Art Nouveau ornamentation of its time of origin, thereby highlighting the decadent and intoxicating score. CAST 20.01.2020 Conductor-Dennis Russell Davies Director-Boleslaw Barlog Set and costume design-Jürgen Rose Herodes-Herwig Pecoraro Herodias-Waltraud Meier Salome-Lise Lindstrom Jochanaan-Michael Volle