Salome

Salome is Oscar Wilde’s twist on the biblical story of Herod, Herodias, and Salome. The story tells of a lovely young girl Salome, her step-father Herod’s obsession with her, and Salome’s infatuation with the prophet John the Baptist (Jokanaan). It is an opera in one act by composer Richard Strauss. The libretto is Hedwig Lachmann's German translation of the 1891 French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde, edited by the composer. The opera is famous (at the time of its premiere, infamous) for its "Dance of the Seven Veils.” The production in Billings is accompanied by piano and sung in German with English text projected above the stage.