Salomé from Verbier 2010: Jochaaaaanaan...

Today, August 1st 2010, at 19:00 (cet), there will be a live broadcast of Richard Strauss' Salomé from Salle des Combins in Verbier. The ensemble of artists is more than inviting... 

Deborah Voigt Salomé
Dame Gwyneth Jones Herodias
Siegfried Jerusalem Herodes
Evgeny Nikitin Jochanaan
John Tessier Narraboth   

For the rest of the cast see here.

Valery Gergiev will conduct the Verbier Festival Orchestra, and Arte (the World's coolest TV) provides the webcast to everyone via ARTE Live Web. Alternatively you can watch it on medici.tv.
Video is appended below. If you don't catch it live, you can see it during a month following the live broadcast.

Tessier, Nikitin, and Voigt

Debbie Voigt might be good in this role (?), Nikitin must be excellent as ever, and you cannot not to be curious to see Dame Gwen Jones and Siegfried Jerusalem (unsurpassed Tristan -- c.f. this DVD)

Since the Verbier Orchestra is so special, I guess Valya Gergiev was forced to practice the score for some time with them, and when he invests some of his precious time rehearsing the result is most often very good [although this rarely happens since he became a man who conducts "364 concerts a year" ;)]

Ed: Very good concert!
Gergiev evidently practiced with the youngsters who put their souls and hearts into this performance. The oldies were struggling a bit but who cares! ;) 

Debbie should forget Isolde and keep singing this. Brava!
The most impressive singer tonight was, however, Evgeny Nikitin. Enooormous!

Video embedded below.

The Konwitschny Affair, or Why Salome rubbed me the wrong way?

"Salome" by Konwitschny had everything I need to consider it an excellent show, and yet there was something rubbing me the wrong way. After digging a bit deeper I think I've found the answer: I saw "Armida" by Calixto Bieito in Komische Oper Berlin this spring. And yes, Bieito has set a standard that Konwitschny's "Salome" simply didn't fulfill.

Salomé : Amsterdam V. Paris 1:0

I had a privilege to see two different productions of Salome in only a couple of weeks. One is an old production (Paris Opera) and the other is new (Amsterdam Opera).

Paris show was old and tired, and simply nothing seemed to be in its place: this must have been the most uninspiring "Salome" ever. On the other hand the new production in Amsterdam was controversial, properly sung, and Konwitschny spurred the tons of boos (again)! The comparison sadly reminds us once again how terribly low the Paris Opera has fallen since past September.