Metropolitan Opera Archives

That was also Conlon's problem when the Met earlier in November revived its deplorable 1989 production of Richard Strauss's “Salome.” Here the music from an orchestra almost three times the size of a Rossini band was loud and louder, but Conlon withheld the nuances that the still-amazing score demands. Among the newcomers to the show, the most central, naturally, was Hildegard Behrens in the title role. As heard and seen November 23, she sang generously and feelingly, but she looked like an aged version of the blowsy Marlene Dietrich of “The Blue Angel” — ideal in fact for Begbick the next time the Met revives "Mahagonny." Ekkehard Wlaschiha sang a timbre-shivering John the Baptist but acted like a robot. Held over from two seasons ago were the awesomely caved-in Herod of Richard Cassilly and the gorgeously gowned, ludicrously villainous Herodias of Helga Dernesch. Nikolaus Lehnolfs production in Jurgen Rose's vertiginous scenery still looks as if the action takes place in the hold of the Titanic as it hits the iceberg. Call the show unsafe and insane.

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