R. Strauss - Salome (2007)

This filmed version of Strauss' shocker features Teresa Stratas as opera's most depraved teenager, and she's as perfect a Salome as one would ever hope to see or hear. Stratas inhabits the role, exploring the character's sensuousness as she vainly woos Jochanaan, her venomous hatred when she's rejected, the crazed look in her eyes when she demands his head--on a silver platter, no less. Such complete identification with a role, especially of a character so malignant helps make this 1974 Salome stand out among the many fine DVDs of the opera.

The visceral impact of the film owes much to Götz Friedrich's direction and Gerd Staub's sets. All of the action takes place in the courtyard of Herod's palace, but Friedrich exploits the claustrophobic possibilities of limited space by his deft camera angles that follow the singers and by copious close-ups that often show details unavailable to us when we see the opera live or even in a filmed stage performance: Stratas' face and eyes, which reflect her swift mood changes, Jochanaan's face, which shows his disgust, and the corrupt visages of Herod and Herodias. The cumulative effect of such close-ups heightens tension and creates an atmosphere in which we, the viewers, are thrust into the action. It's not always a comfortable experience but it's always an engrossing one. Staub's sets and the costumes designed by Jan Skalicky are more or less generic but functional, with nice touches like the headpiece Stratas wears, which emphasizes the reptilian slithering of her movements The veils in Salome's famous dance and some of the robes worn by the courtiers add touches of color to the overall grayness that emphasizes the claustrophobic elements of the opera.

While Stratas' overwhelming performance commands prime attention, the cast is a strong one. The great Wagnerian soprano Astrid Varnay, long past her vocal prime, is a venomous Herodiade whose facial expressions mirror her inner corruption. Varnay's portrayal comes perilously close to being over the top but that may be said of others in the cast, too, as Friedrich seems to encourage excess in an opera that wallows in it. Hans Beirer's lascivious Herod, for example, is also broadly interpreted, but very well done in the context of Friedrich's framework of a decadent sex-obsessed court. The role of Jochanaan is taken by Bernd Weikl whose sonorous singing and acting vividly portray his scorn for his captors and his repulsion at Salome's sexual aggressiveness.

The sound mix favors the singers and downgrades the orchestra, itself a central character, though rather attenuated, as it comments on the action and elaborates on the sung lines. Karl Böhm, a great Strauss conductor, leads the sumptuous Vienna Philharmonic in a performance that, in spite of its dim placement, illuminates Strauss' orchestration. All in all, this is a must-have Salome. --Dan Davis Amazon.com

Brilliant Stratas

I saw this production on TV many years ago and thought then that it was really good, I have now changed my mind, it is brilliant, although Teresa Stratas probably could not have sung the role on stage she excels here, her acting, dancing and singing is superb, is there any end to this womans talent? the rest of the cast is so well made that this is a masterpiece, the great Astrid Varnay is well cast here, vocally she is well past her prime but her experience in opera makes her the ideal Herodias. I have a number of performances with Stratas including Nedda and Violetta in La Traviata and she never puts a foot wrong no matter what she is doing. If you want Salome this has to be the only way to go. Brilliant, tense, sexy and overall frightening performance from Teresa Stratas, that is exactly what Salome should be. Karl Bohm's control of the orchestra is magnificent, but then this is the great Karl Bohm so you don't expect anything less. September 10, 2008

opera lover

This is one of the best opera productions I've ever seen. It is so compelling. The singing is superb and the costuming is perfect. I thought it must be a recently recorded piece but was astoninshed to see that it was done in the seventies. I am thrilled to have it in my collection of opera on DVD. Thank you so much.....Albert Kleppe June 29, 2008

Finding a lost performance

I had seen and enjoyed this performance of Salome on TV long ago, and while looking for a recording of somethig else, found that this had been released only last summer. The transfer is excellent, the performance is as riveting as it was some thirty years ago, and it is a welcome addition to my library. What more can I add? June 23, 2008

A Mesmerizing, Definitive Performance

I'm not a fan of opera on film, as I often feel that there's too much of a disconnect between the recorded soundtrack and the singers' actions. (Basically, most opera singers are lousy lip-synchers.) But if any DVD were to change my mind, it would be this one, mostly because of the extraordinary performance of a young, stunningly beautiful Teresa Stratas. Her gradual decline from willful petulance into obsessed insanity is remarkably vivid and harrowing; this is the kind of intense and intelligent acting one expects from a Meryl Streep or Cate Blanchett. Add a voice that's vibrant, clear and passionate and the kind of sexy star-quality you associate with a Sophia Loren and you have what may be the most perfectly calibrated opera performance I've ever seen.

With the exception of Bernd Weikl's supremely wild and creepy Jochanaan, the rest of the cast isn't quite up to Ms. Stratas's standards. Yes, Astrid Varnay is a legendary talent, but I wish she and Hans Beirer weren't directed to be the comic relief. And they're terrible lip-synchers, so all my reservations about opera on film started to intrude as soon as they came on screen. Also, I thought that The Dance of the Seven Veils felt flat, with Stratas looking a little too much like Cousin It at the top of it. But these are minor reservations when stacked against her towering, magnificent performance. This is the best Salome -- and therefore "Salome" -- that you're ever likely to see. Ever. (Can you tell I liked it?) May 8, 2008

R. Strauss - Salome Stratas,Bohm

Wonderful performance from a star who never did the opera on the stage, but she's excellent in this production- but so is the rest of the cast. Bohm, as usual, is a master with R.Strauss. Well worth the price-particularly when compared to ticket prices. March 29, 2008

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