Strauss: Salome (Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg 2018, Directed by: Kasten)

Richard Strauss’s opera Salome at the Salzburg Festival—staged at the Felsenreitschule by none other than Romeo Castellucci—was nothing short of a sensation in the past opera season! Asmik Grigorian made her debut in the title role and, with her fascinating vocal and acting abilities in this extraordinary production, vaulted straight into the small international elite of sopranos. Quite rightly, this truly exceptional singer subsequently received the International Opera Award for Best Singer. To hear Maestro Franz Welser-Möst performing with the Vienna Philharmonic—and with such an outstanding cast—“makes you believe you are hearing the piece in its most perfect incarnation to date” (Financial Times). “Asmik Grigorian sweeps everything else off the stage in the title role of this Strauss opera. […] She is a Salome to end all Salomes. […] Breathtaking from start to finish…” (Financial Times).