This spring, Elza van den Heever returns to The Metropolitan Opera to take on the title role in Richard Strauss’ Salome. She made her role debut in 2022 at Opéra national de Paris, where her performances were met with much acclaim.
The season has marked a particularly rich chapter of Strauss for Ms. van den Heever at the Met, following her critically lauded portrayal of the Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten earlier this year. Reflecting on her experience performing both roles, she shared in an interview with the company:
“Salome mostly sits quite low in my voice until the final ten minutes. And her character is so delicious, so complicated and perverse and injured and abused. So completely three-dimensional. But once again, I just love the music. It’s such a privilege—I have to pinch myself every day… To step into the shoes of the people that came before me in this repertoire is daunting, but I’m filled with gratitude, to the Met and especially to Strauss. What an absolute genius.”
Salome receives a bold new staging by director Claus Guth—the first new production of the one-act opera at the Met in two decades. Set in a psychologically charged Victorian-era world, Guth’s interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s biblical drama is steeped in symbolism and the interplay of darkness and light.
The distinguished cast also features Peter Mattei as Jochanaan, Michelle DeYoung as Herodias, Gerhard Siegel and Chad Shelton (May 10) as Herod, and Piotr Buszewski as Narraboth. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads his first company performances of Strauss’ searing masterpiece. Derrick Inouye will also take the podium on May 10 and 24.
Performances are scheduled for April 29, May 2, 6, 10, 13, 17, 21, and 24. The May 17 performance will be transmitted live to cinemas around the world as part of The Met: Live in HD series.
Credit: James Estrin/The New York Times