Opera Tickets Italy

Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Sala Grande


Platea 1, € 156
Platea 2, € 108
Platea 3, € 90
Platea 4, € 78
Galleria, € 42



Salome, Opera by R. Strauss

Salome, Opera by R. Strauss

An opera that brought fame to its composer, Richard Strauss' Salome is a one-act staging of a Biblical story set during the reign of King Herod. Strauss wrote it to a libretto he adapted from a translation by Hedwig Lachmann, a German poet and linguist. She had translated Oscar Wilde's French-language stage play, Salomé, but Strauss cut down the German-language version Lachmann had produced significantly, refining Salome to the essential aspects of the story. The opera was first performed at Dresden's Semperoper (Saxon State Opera) on 9 December 1905. It was received with such enthusiastic acclaim and Strauss went on to score a more expansive, French-language version years later with similar initial success. This production at the Teatro del Maggio in Florence is Op. 54 in the original German with characters such as Jochanaan, otherwise known as John the Baptist.

Salome is the stepdaughter of King Herod and the action in the opera takes place at his court. The princess hears Jochanaan's voice and is intrigued by his prophetic statements. In fact, she attempts to seduce him and is somewhat startled by his rejection of her. Salome turns to her stepfather in revenge, a man who seems to have an unsettling attraction of his own toward the princess. She demands the head of Jochanaan which the king agrees to. However, Herod imposes a condition on his stepdaughter – she must perform an erotically charged dance for him, the so-called Dance of the Seven Veils. This dance is at the heart of both Wilde's stage play and Strauss' operatic interpretation of it.

Will Salome accede to her stepfather's demands? What will the outcome be if she does? As for the central religious figure in the opera - Jochanaan – how will his story play out? All these questions are answered in Salome with a plot finale that is often seen as just as shocking today as it was when it was first staged.

By mixing a Biblical narrative with an erotic storyline, Salome is a truly dramatic opera. It went on to be produced in dozens of other opera houses within a couple of years of its premiere, largely due to the impressive technical construction and powerful expressiveness of Strauss' music as well as its sensual themes. This opera has a controversial nature due to the fact that Salome is not merely Herod’s stepdaughter but also his niece. This is because Salome’s mother, Herodias, is not only Herod's wife but also his sister-in-law.

With a fateful plot and dramatic scoring that makes extensive use of leitmotifs, this production of Salome at Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino offers thought-provoking entertainment in Florence.




image Teatro del Maggio Fiorentino / Michele Monasta