Strauss Richard - Salome (Christoph von Dohnányi) [1997]

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Strauss Richard - Salome (Christoph von Dohnányi) [1997]

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Others have praised this Covent Garden Salome for its dramatic impact, and with good cause. The direcotr, Luc Bondy, has translated the opera into tortured terms that the painter Egon Schiele would recognize; the sexuality is masochistic, frenzied, and self-destructive. John the Baptist is no solemn stick of wood – Bryn Terfel makes him as agonized and writhing as Salome herself. But the brunt of the Expressionist labor falls on the cat-like Malfitano, whose descent into madness is neither campy nor stagey. She's a great actress, and she adapts to the stylized movements straight out of Nosferatu with total conviction. (Only the opening scene is weak, since her girlish figure can't completely disguise that she is considerably too old to be the Judean princess.)

On the musical side, I'm willing to forgive a lot. Terfel is magnificent and dominates the stage with sheer vocal prowess. He may look like a truck driver wrapped in a bath sheet, but all doubts disappear when he turns on the vocal charisma. Malfitano works from the opposite direction. Her voice, let's face it, is completely inadequate to the role except in terms of daring and stamina. She attacks every note fearlessly, even though her voice lacks the gleam, heft, and seductiveness that the role requires (as a result, the accompanying CD set from Decca, made with the Vienna Phil., cruelly exposed her vocal shortcomings). Without her petite frame and superb acting abilities, Malfitano wouldn't stand a chance. As the odious Herod and Herodias, Kenneth Riegel and Anja Silja (aka Mrs. Dohnanyi) are reliable, hammy stage veterans. By Santa Fe Listener

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Strauss Richard - Salome (Christoph von Dohnányi) [1997]

Close