유대 분봉왕의 의붓딸, 살로메는 감옥에 갇힌 예언자 요하난의 목소리에 매력을 느끼고 그를 감옥에서 꺼내도록 명령한다. 남편을 살해하고 왕위를 빼앗아 시동생 헤롯과 재혼한 어머니, 헤로디아와 왕의 부정함을 꾸짖는 요하난의 모습에 완전히 반해버린 살로메는 그에게 구애하지만 거부당한다. 헤롯이 살로메에게 춤을 추면 원하는 것이 무엇이든 들어주겠다고 제안을 하고 춤을 마친 살로메는 요하난의 머리를 요구한다.
It is no wonder that Met audiences have gone wild over Karita Mattila’s sizzling Salome. Indisputably one of the greatest Salomes of our time, Mattila utterly incarnates Oscar Wilde’s petulant, willful, and lust-driven heroine. With Strauss’s groundbreaking music magnifying the degenerate atmosphere and building the erotic tension, this is one opera that is as shocking today as it was at its premiere in 1905.
Live from the Royal Opera 2008. David McVicar’s powerful 2008 production of Strauss's opera – based on a play by Oscar Wilde – takes the controversial and disturbing film 120 Days of Sodom as its visual reference. The action is set in a debauched palace, which has suggestions of Nazi Germany. Strauss’s ravishing and voluptuous score adds to the sexual alchemy that is conjured by an international cast led by Nadja Michael in the title role. Salome is filmed for the big screen with High Definition cameras and recorded in true surround sound.
