Salome - Royal Opera House, 29 February 2008
The main problem I had with last week's premiere of Salome at Covent Garden (see here for more) wasn't so much the production itself - it was just that I couldn't see half the bleeding thing. From high up in the cheap amphitheatre seats, the top half of the split-level set was invisible. But thanks to a kindly benefactor I was able to give it another try, this time from centre stalls.
What a difference. Unfortunately for anyone in the cheap seats, those missing few feet of stage space really are critical. What's up there is simply a tableau, a lavish dinner party where sumptuously dressed guests slump drinking and idly passing round a barely-dressed woman to be fondled like a pet. But its casual debauchery emphasised the debasement in the basement, that the grimy bath house/kitchen on the lower level is an inevitable consequence of the decadence above.
The other difference was Thomas Moser. His first night absence due to illness meant that the part of Herod was taken over by Robin Leggate - a competent but by no means stunning performance. Back in the show and on form, Moser's imposing bulk and natural charisma gave Herod the regal presence so missed in Leggate's interpretation, while his sweaty unshaven leer hinted at depravity.
He brought some balance to a production otherwise dominated by Michael Volle's towering Jokanaan, and made a more credible partner for Michaela Schuster's blowsy Herodias than the trim Leggate did. And the detail in his performance hinted exquisitely at Herod's perversity, as he kissed the dead Narraboth, recollecting his handsomeness, or fed a servant boy with his fingers. Volle aside, there was something cold and disengaging about the first night's spectacle, and in retrospect, I think it was the absence of Moser. Not only because his own performance was superb, but because he allowed the other singers to respond in kind and give their best.
And musical standards generally were higher than they had been on the first night, with Phillipe Jordan taking a bolder view, and a lot more polish from the orchestra.
Just a shame that only those with £110 tickets could appreciate it in full.
Joseph Kaiser and Daniela Sindram
Recent Comments