Salome, London Coliseum - ★ - Until December, 2018


Richard Strauss is not the most approachable composer at the best of times, but his work is not made easier by this production of “Salome.” Apparently it is supposed to be a feminist reading of the work as is polysyllabically explained. We would have never guessed. The brutalist set is the background for a drag Santa Claus, Herod, flopping around in a pool of pink blood, a Jochanaan who is wearing a head camera projecting his mouth movements onto a large screen and an enormous headless horse prop which is flogged from time to time. Meanwhile Salome stumbles about like a lascivious somnambulist. Does all this distract from the singing? Does it matter. You wouldn’t find a melody here anyway.

 Reviewed by J.C.

 Our Score:  ☆ 

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WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Running until December 2018
London Coliseum
Nearest tube: Covent Garden
https://www.eno.org
Map & Location: St Martin's Ln, London WC2N 4ES, UK

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