Upon hearing the voice of the prophet Jokanaan, Salomé immediately falls in love with him and attempts to seduce him. When he rejects her advances, she swears she will succeed in kissing him on the lips. King Herod is ready to do anything to satisfy his lascivious yearnings for Salome.
Oscar Wilde’s play inspired Richard Strauss to create a cruelly lush tragedy whose plot fills a single act. The sought-after director Claus Guth sets this biblical origin story in the Victorian era, bringing a completely fresh perspective to a work that brought opera into the modern era. This opera in one act is presented in German with French subtitles.