This evening’s performance of R. Strauss’s Salome at the Theater Basel was so peculiar that it is difficult to describe it. While ideally one wishes to hear a score (and see a staging) in its full potential as the text and the notes suggest it, in real life there are uncountable elements that make a successful performance, regardless of how important singers, orchestra, conductor, director and the theatre individually are. This evening, for instance, won’t be remembered as the ultimate Salome in anyone’s experience, but I am sure that everyone who saw it won’t forget it. It featured an ideal combination of forces ideally matched to each other, making an unusually coherent whole.
The auditorium in the Theater Basel is not big, and the Sinfonieorchester Basel is hardly amazing in volume, refulgence and glamor. Yet Salome is an opera where a big hall and a superpowerful orchestra can make it impossible for a conductor to find the desirable balance with singers on stage. And when you do find singers able to stand the competition, they rarely sound or look their parts. Strauss himself struggled with the issue, looking for a light yet bearable soprano, recommending that conductors kept the orchestra under leash and even toying with revising the score. Although I am not sure that what we heard today was really on purpose, it worked in a way Strauss himself would have approved. As it is, the “reduced” version of the score has been used, and although it is markedly less exciting than the full version and its punchy effects, it felt less empty than in a big theater, as one could sometimes feel in Aix last summer. It also allows for unusual harmonic clarity and transparency. Although conductor Clemens Hell could have let himself go a little bit more in the interludes and give a little bit more time for key moments to produce their complete effect, the structural clarity in this performance was praiseworthy. As usual with Salomes made in these circumstances, one miss a bit of raw excitement. Yet after many exciting and wildly uneven large-scaled performances, this was really refreshing.
In a way, Herbert Fritsch’s production is also surprisingly faithful to the aesthetics Strauss had in mind when he composed it. This staging is entirely free of vulgarity, exaggeration, overstatement. It delivers the highly stylized atmosphere of the play, almost as in a 1970’s disco version of Aubrey Beardsley’s illustrations. This means that the kitsch is there – and this is a central part of Strauss’s music. It is like pepper in Indian food. All singers act in millimetrically choreographed movements and facial gestures, often with a wink to comedy. Even if one may find it too close to children’s theatre, it is well done, all singers well directed, aware of the purpose of it and comfortable with what they are doing – and it makes sense for the audience too after while. For instance, this was probably my favorite dance of the seven veils. Here Salome can’t really dance, it’s just like when your 12 years old daughter says “daddy, I’m a ballerina” and does what she imagines to be ballet.
Central to the concept is the presence of American soprano Heather Engebretson in the title role. She looks so childlike that it feels almost disturbing to watch her with Jokanaan. I had never seen a singer like her in the part. On trying to establish a comparison, I can only think of Teresa Stratas in the film with Karl Böhm. Ms. Engebretson’s high notes are rather golden and fuller, though. Although she labels herself a lirico spinto, I hear a lyric voice expertly handled, with unusual ease in the higher reaches The middle and medium registers are a bit puffed up to cope, but she never carries the trick to her top register, where her money notes are. She has ideal breath support, enviable stamina, and a sense of line not always available in this kind of adaptation. In a heavy role as this, she doesn’t have much leeway for tone coloring and dynamic variety (no mezza voce à la Caballé or Behrens, for instance), but she makes do with word-pointing. The way she handled the music, the technical aspects of the singing, the complex and very much physical acting demands was fascinating – and yet she felt very much like the Salome of this performance, in the sense that there she was evidently in control in a play about someone loosing control. The obsession, the fixation, the despair were not truly there – but again it made sense in this staging. It felt really childlike in its directness.
Jason Cox’s baritone too is on the light side for Jochanaan. He made for the absence of vocal impact with intensity of delivery and he is probably the singer who comes closer to the description of the character in the play I have probably ever seen. And the head was very realistic, although the director probably doesn’t know the story of Olive Fremstad with the it, by the way everybody carried it as though it wasn’t heavy at all. There was a remarkable dulcet-toned Narraboth in Ronan Caillet. I would be curious to hear him sing Mozart. It was nice, for a change too, to hear a singer in her prime as Herodias, as Jasmin Etezadzadeh found no problem with the exposed high notes. Some singers in the cast were announced ill, but that did not spoil the fun. All minor roles were well taken.
I HEAR VOICES 
Interesting sounding show. I haven’t heard of any of these singers but is Engebretson really manages to sing the role the way you described, she sounds very accomplished indeed.
I saw Van Den Heever recently and thought she was quite good vocally. But the real story is the Armide I saw with Gens. Stupid production and Bostridge was weird casting but Gens, after warming up, was excellent and the conducting was amazing. Can’t believe it took her this long to get to this role.
Yes, it was really worth the detour. After my two last experiences in Basel, I was a bit uncertain if I should give it a chance – and I am glad I did. They’re staging a new Ring next year – and I had almost decided I wouldn’t go. But now I’m in 🙂
As for Ms. Engebretson, yes, she is very interesting and I would have to see her in a different role to begin to “get” what she does (she is cast in the Basel Ring, God knows in which role). Because of her physique, she sings lots of girly parts – Butterfly, the soprano parts in the Humperdinck operas, but I understand she is singing Elsa somewhere next season. I can’t really see that, for the voice lacks volume in the middle, but as far as I could see, she is a very cunning singer – there wasn’t a second in the whole opera in which she looked as if she wasn’t doing exactly what she wanted to do.
So you saw the Paris Salome? A friend said he found the producing embarrassing. I saw one or two pictures and it all looked all over the place and too much. Van den Heever has the kind of voice I picture in the role (in the good old “full” orchestration).
You know, I felt immensely tempted to see the Armide. The Opéra Comique kept sending me ads, and I almost pressed the “purchase” button twice. So I’m a bit jealous…!
I thought the production was mostly just kind of lame because it’s all been done before and executed better. I actually liked the basic look of it but it was shamelessly disgusting in the most redundant way. I think many productions err too far on the side of caution but this was pretty amateurish stuff. Van Den Heever was strong vocally, though it was clear she was pacing herself. She’ll never really be a Salome temperament by nature but I appreciate that she managed to be restrained without being completely upended by what was happening around her.
I couldn’t not go to Armide, it’s done so rarely and Gens and Roussett together was too good to miss. I believe I have said this here before but it might very well be my pick for “why isn’t this standard rep adjacent” opera. Even by Gluck and baroque standards it’s not done much and IMO it’s basically perfect. Gens kind of reminded me of late career Scotto on a good day in the sense that you were always somewhat aware of a smart singer cannily using their voice to encompass music that no longer really sits in their comfort zone. Of course Gens’ voice is in better shape than Scotto’s was by the time she was Gens’ age and of course Gens’ is still singing within her basic fach and vocal weight. Some of the more declamatory writing seemed to really challenge her initially, but once she got to the consecutive monologues in act two she was on firmer footing. Some kind of overdrive must have kicked in after that because other than some squawking up top, she let it out a lot more in the second half.