Salome last night was, well, interesting. It was one act, and lasted an hour and 45 minutes. The staging was sparse - not as sparse, mind you, as Iphigenie, although I don't think you can get any more minimalist than that. Fortunately, there was no chalk writing in Salome, or anyone throwing sponges at the walls for unintentional comic relief. The stage was big and bright and airy - there was an upper level that the cast would occasionally go running around on (and you could see it move. very creepy. when ever someone was to close to one of the edges of the suicide balcony, i held my breath....). The beginning of the opera was a little bit confusing to me - people on stage not clearly identified, a random page girl was wandering around during some of the scenes for no apparent reason, and one of the characters suddenly dropped to the stage without explanation (so I was sitting there thinking, 'wait... is he dead? how did he die?' etc).
Overall, though, the cast was tremendous. Of course, I was excited to see and hear Deborah Voigt. She came out in the first scene and looked simply stunning. I knew she'd lost lots of weight, but really? WOW. Gorgeous. And the voice was absolutely amazing, as she coveyed all the depths of Salome's youthful longing for John the Baptist. She was definitely the highlight of the production - even when she was talking to a decapitated head. Creepy.
Supporting cast were also outstanding - Alan Held as John the Baptist, Kim Begley as Herod, Judith Forst as Herodias.
Afterwards, while waiting in line in the restroom for a turn at the paper towel dispenser, a friendly patron turned to me and said "That chick was totally whack." Yes, indeed, and well summed up.
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