Vienna's new Salome: orchestral excellence, vocal virtuosity

Malin Byström (Salome) and Pablo Delgado (Executioner)

Ilja Kazakov (First Soldier), Benedikt Missmann (Video), Anna Chesnova (Young Salome), Malin Byström

Wolfgang Koch (Jochanaan), Jana Radda (Young Salome) and Malin Byström (Salome)

Malin Byström (Salome)

Michaela Schuster (Herodias), Gerhard Siegel (Herodes) and ensemble

By George Jahn, 06 February 2023

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“Strauss... wanted a Salome with an ‘Isolde voice’ and the Swedish lyric soprano more than delivered”

Reviewed at Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna on 4 February 2023

Strauss R., Salome

Vienna State Opera

Philippe Jordan, Conductor

Cyril Teste, Director

Valérie Grall, Set Designer

Marie La Rocca, Costume Designer

Julien Boizard, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera

Mehdi Toutain-Lopez, Video

Malin Byström, Salome

Michaela Schuster, Herodias

Gerhard Siegel, Herodes

Daniel Jenz, Narraboth

Wolfgang Koch, Jochanaan

Patricia Nolz, Herodias' Page

Thomas Ebenstein, 1st Jew

Andrea Giovannini, 2nd Jew

Carlos Osuna, 3rd Jew

Robert Bartneck, 4th Jew

Evgeny Solodovnikov, 5th Jew

Attila Mókus, 2nd Nazarene

Wolfgang Bankl, 1st Soldier

Clemens Unterreiner, 2nd Soldier

At half mast: Simon Boccanegra revived in Vienna

Orsolya Gyárfás, 19th April

Marco Armiliato's conducting thrills and Federica Lombardi's radiant Amelia stands out in the Wiener Staatsoper's latest revival of Simon Boccanegra.

***11

Anna Netrebko shines in Vienna’s timeless Tosca

Laura Servidei, 18th April

In a world where opera productions often stray into the abstract, the Wiener Staatsoper’s Tosca offers a refreshing return to tradition – and Anna Netrebko delivers a splendid performance.

****1

Tragedy in the mirror: Minghella’s Madama Butterfly in Vienna

Laura Servidei, 14th March

Ermonela Jaho returns to one of her signature roles as Cio-Cio-San, delivering a searing and deeply nuanced portrayal.

****1

Too much and too little: Jan Lauwers’ restless Clemenza in Vienna

Chanda VanderHart, 12th March

The creative team behind the new Staatsoper Clemenza is unwilling to trust that Mozart’s opera is interesting enough to stand on its own.

***11

An Idomeneo shattered to pieces at the Wiener Staatsoper

Orsolya Gyárfás, 23rd January

A committed cast struggles to lend a spark of life to Kasper Holten's static staging of Mozart's first mature opera.

**111

A holiday Bohème: Puccini, Zeffirelli and tradition in Vienna

Laura Servidei, 21st December

Giacomo Sagripanti conducts a luxuriant reading with a cast anchored by Juan Diego Flórez and Nicole Car, in Zeffirelli’s familiar, generous, unabashedly emotional production.

***11

More reviews...

George Jahn

George Jahn is the former Vienna bureau chief of The Associated Press. During his 35-year career at the global news organization, he covered wars, politics... and opera, reviewing productions at the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, Bayreuth Festival and other houses in Austria and Germany. He has also written for Opera Now and International Piano magazines in London. Those he has interviewed include Matthias Goerne, Vesselina Kasarova, Thomas Hampson and Mariss Jansons. George holds or shares awards for his reporting on U.N. affairs and for his coverage of the Bosnian war. A Canadian/Hungarian citizen, he splits his time between residences in Vienna and Budapest.

A new Salome at the Wiener Staatsoper: orchestral excellence, vocal virtuosity