In its time Strauss’s
Salome has attracted more than
its fair share of scathing criticism.
‘The nastiest opera in existence’ was
the comment of a music writer for The
Times of Richard Strauss’s Salome.
Newman described it as ‘a marvellous
study of a diseased woman’s mind’.
Controversy always
seemed not far away for any work adapted
from Oscar Wilde and scandal followed
scandal into the opera house. However,
betrayal, eroticism and a gruesome death
have been an almost customary ingredient
in opera since the time of Monteverdi.
In this adaptation, we witness a magnificent
characterisation of Herod’s neurasthenia;
the inertia, fatigue and undue irritability
throughout the opera. This is contrasted
with the noble dignity of John the Baptist.
The work does not derive from Schopenhaurean
philosophy; sex is portrayed as a struggle
of power between the eponymous Salome
and her stepfather Herod. Few music-dramas
generate so great an erotic sensuality
as in the Dance of the Seven Veils;
the finest portrayals are almost visual
in their rhythmic imagery; listen to
the appendix performance of Fritz Reiner’s
Boston musicians. Yet the ultimate sensuality
arrives when Salome sings to the head
of John the Baptist ‘I will kiss thy
mouth, Jokanaan.’
Naturally, controversy
attached to both stage performances
and record productions. Among the most
legendary of historical recordings are
those featuring the Bulgarian singer
Ljuba Welitsch. In her 1944 Vienna rendition
under Lovro von Matacic’s baton, she
attained an unequalled degree of intensity,
and in 1949 set down the complete final
scene with the Metropolitan Opera under
Fritz Reiner. The first commercial recording
on LP appeared from a Dresden source
in 1948 under Joseph Keilberth featuring
Christel Goltz as Salome.
Decca produced their
first setting of Salome in 1954
using Vienna forces under the great
Clemens Krauss, one of the most gifted
conductors of the day and an accomplished
interpreter of German and Viennese classics.
The Decca recording superbly engineered
by the magnificent recording producer
Victor Olof also featured Goltz as Salome.
Her partners were amongst the leading
soloists of the Vienna Staatsoper of
the period. The tenor Julius Patzak
proves an unequalled Herod, giving a
supreme characterization of this complex,
difficult role, Patzak’s ‘acting’ of
the part can almost be heard on this
recording and he is always musical in
his interpretation. The baritone Hans
Braun, always reliable and constant
in his singing, sings the central part
of Jokanaan. The great Yugoslav tenor
Anton Dermota is Narraboth and offers
a fine, passionate characterization.
A great bonus to this recording taken
from a Vienna Staatsoper production
is that all the secondary parts are
assumed by distinguished singers; bass
Ludwig Weber as the First Nazarene,
tenor Murray Dickie as the Fourth Jew,
the bass Walter Berry as the Second
Soldier. This superb production held
sway until Decca decided to make a stereo
re-make some eight years later under
the redoubtable John Culshaw of ‘Sonicstage’
fame.
How does this reissue
of the 1954 Vienna Salome match
up?
First, it must be pointed
out that Decca’s artistic policy followed
upon successful operatic productions
which had already achieved critical
success in the theatre. Whilst this
often produced a convincing triumph
in the studio there were occasionally
problems in that not all dramatic singers
could readily adapt to the lengthy and
tiresome recording practice. Others,
particularly those in their late careers
- Christel Goltz is a case in point
- allowed tiredness to be discerned.
It could be argued that Decca may have
attained a greater success if they had
resolved to hire the best singers for
the leading role. Should Welitsch have
been offered the part? This would have
been a greater achievement .No one has
characterised the leading role of Salome
better. Who could portray Salome’s eroticism
and passion through the microphone as
could Welitsch (witness the extract
from her 1949 setting with Fritz Reiner).
Ljuba Welitsch makes the listener believe
she is Salome. Naxos also give us several
other performances of the soprano part:
Emmy Destinn, 1907, Göta Ljungberg,
1929, Marjorie Lawrence, 1934.
The supreme glory of
this set is the magnificent playing
of the Vienna Philharmonic under Krauss.
He controls his ensemble with a tight
grip and determination and sustains
the dramatic force of the score from
the deliberate beginning to its appalling
conclusion. The conductor passed away
just a few short months after completing
this recording, a grievous loss for
the music world. One is left to wonder
what other great recordings he would
have made had he lived into the stereo
era.
This is highly recommended
to anyone interested in 20th
century opera, not least for the added
bonus of the rare historical recordings
worth the price of this Naxos set alone.
Gregor Tassie
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Clemens Krauss 
