Komische Oper Berlin, season 2025/2026
“SALOME”
Opera in one act
Libretto by Hedwig Lachmann, translated from Oscar Wilde’s French play ‘Salomé’
Music by Richard Strauss
Salome NICOLE CHEVALIER
Herodes MATTHIAS WOHLBRECHT
Herodias KAROLINA GUMOS
Jochanaan GÜNTER PAPENDELL
Narraboth AGUSTÍN GÓMEZ
The Page of Herodias EKATERINA CHAYKA-RUBINSTEIN
First Jew IVAN TURŠIĆ
Second Jew JOHANNES DUNZ
Third Jew THOMA JARON-WUTZ
Fourth Jew FERDINAND KELLER
Fifth Jew ANDREW NOLEN
First Nazarene JUNOH LEE
Second Nazarene CHRISTOPH SPÄTH
First Soldier PHILIPP MEIERHÖFER
Second Soldier ANDREW HARRIS
A Cappadocian STEPHANOS TSIRAKOGLOU
A slave GRACE HELDRIDGE
Dancers LAURA BESCHI, DANIELLE BEZAIRE, LEA BIRKHOFF, GIORGIA BORTOLUZZI, THEONI BOUFI, LEONOR CAMPILLO, ALICIA DIGES SANZ, MICHAEL FERNANDEZ, BENJAMIN GERICKE, CLAUDIA GRECO, VALERIIA HEREHA, GABRIELLA LEMMA, RACHEL SKIPOR
Komparserie (extras) der Komischen Oper Berlin
Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin
Conductor James Gaffigan
Choreography Martina Borroni
Director Evgeny Titov
Stage design Rufus Didwiszus
Costumes Esther Bialas
Light design Sebastian Alfons
Berlin, 7 December 2025
Salome by Richard Strauss is undoubtedly a masterpiece! The musical drama about the biblical princess Salome lasts just under a hundred minutes, but in this short time it runs through all the highs and lows of human depravity that a thousand television crime dramas could not achieve combined. She demands and ultimately receives the head of Jochanaan (John the Baptist) as a reward for the dance of the seven veils, which she performs at the express request of her stepfather Herod. Despite Herod’s prohibition, she had previously seen the prophet at close range with the help of Captain Narraboth and fallen in love with him. Narraboth committed suicide in disgust, and the prophet had rejected her because of her undisguised lust. Looking back, it is not surprising that Richard Strauss managed to condense all this into such a short space of time in such a thrilling way. The work was followed by Elektra, composed four years later, in which the master moved even further towards expressionism, reaching the pinnacle of classical opera and bringing it to a glorious close. Berlin is the only metropolis that can boast three independent opera theatres and ensembles, so that after Claus Guth’s directorial interpretation at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Hans Neuenfels’ at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the Komische Oper Berlin is now following suit at the Schillertheater. It has engaged Evgeny Titov, who in recent years has approached opera as a ‘fetish corner of high culture’ with his directorial work. I’d like to recall Strauss’s own words when one of the greatest Salomes of the 20th century sang the role for the first time in Switzerland and, above all, overacted it. He finally asked that the young singer be told not to play so much, as he had already composed everything! Every performer would therefore be well advised not to exaggerate the lush musical moments of great power. Rufus Didwiszus has appropriately designed a claustrophobic, restrictive stage, a metallic golden room with only one door and the cistern in the middle and a white sphere symbolising the moon. Titov decharacterises Salome by having her wear a white full-head helmet until the end, thus robbing her of her face and personality, making her interchangeable through a costume that is not sevenfold but thirteenfold in the dance of the seven veils. Is this intended to make Salome into something anonymously feminine, behind which the party-loving Herod in a garish green suit with his pansexual entourage, including the heavily padded, gold-sequinned Herodias (costumes by Esther Bialas), is hiding, seeing 13 such alien-like Salomes in his drug- or alcohol-induced frenzy? This question remains unanswered after the performance and seems to me to be the weak point of the production. Another is that Jochanaan appears with a shaven head, but Salome falls in love with his black hair. Everything else does not detract from the play, but tells the story coherently, including good direction of the actors, right down to the smallest roles. Musically, almost nothing is left to be desired. James Gaffigan whips the Orchester der Komischen Oper into a frenzy, yet remains transparent, and the acoustics are favourable for the singers thanks to the limited stage space and relatively small auditorium, so that they are not drowned out. This helps Nicole Chevalier in particular, who bravely sings the title role despite wearing a gauze helmet. She is a rather lyrical Salome, who only reaches her vocal limits in the highly dramatic moments. Her depth has improved enormously since her Rosina about ten years ago, who was still uncertainly straddling the soprano and mezzo versions. Given the murderous vocal demands, this is a magnificent performance overall! Ensemble member Günter Papendell has outgrown the more lyrical baritone roles such as Onegin and has arrived in the dramatic repertoire. His Jochanaan is impressively dominant and remains somewhat statuesque, in keeping with the role. Matthias Wohlbrecht is an extremely convincing Herod, singing with excellent legato and clear diction, and bringing just the right amount of erotomania and paranoia to the character. With Karolina Gumos, the Komische Oper presents a Herodias in full command of her vocal abilities, whose voice matches her voluptuous, hyper-feminine appearance. Unfortunately, Agustín Gómez as Narraboth squanders almost all of the tenor’s moments of mellifluousness at the beginning and remains strangely bland vocally. Ekaterina Chayka-Rubinstein, on the other hand, attracts attention alongside him as Herodias’ page with her mysterious, dark mezzo voice. The difficult-to-untangle quintet of Jews is excellently cast with Ivan Turšić, Johannes Dunz, Thoma Jaron-Wutz, Ferdinand Keller and Andrew Nolen, as are Philipp Meierhöfer and Andrew Harris as soldiers and Junoh Lee and Christoph Späth as Nazarenes. One highlight of the performance is undoubtedly Martina Borroni’s ingenious choreography for the veil dance performed by Salome’s doubles, which conveniently gives the title singer a welcome breather before the demanding finale and, at the same time, provides the only logical explanation for Salome’s fencing helmet. All in all, and despite the inconsistencies, I would prefer Evgeny Titov’s interpretation of the piece to those at the capital’s other two opera houses. Photos Jan Windszus Photography