This Salome in English is recommended (to those who require a Salome in English) for the spectacular leadership of Charles Mackerras and for the glorious playing of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Mackerras’ reading begins with a lyric quality that he keeps going as long as he can; the orchestral textures are clear to a point of almost being over-digitized (they don’t sound that way; it’s just hard to believe the engineers got such an ideal balance) and the filigree of instruments that twirl about Salome early on are like tendrils. As the opera progresses the conductor emphasizes the darker instruments, as Strauss scored, but they seem even more-so given how light the early moments have been. The tubas menace as I’ve never heard before; the bass clarinet comments snidely and cruelly. When the head of Jokanaan finally appears the orchestra lets out a wail that is so human, so tragic, so terrible that it perfectly underlines the abject horror of the act. And when we hear it we realize what Strauss meant when he referred to the work as a “scherzo with a fatal conclusion”. The final 20 minutes are a descent into hell that makes the prettiness of the opera’s opening moments seem like decades ago and very far away. The suspense Mackerras and the orchestra create as Salome awaits the head is visceral–even more than I’ve experienced in the opera house. The engineers deserve an award and so does Mackerras.
I wish the singing were up to the same level. Susan Bullock is a fine artist with a grand voice, and I don’t even mind that it displays a bit of a wobble under stress. But she sounds matronly; the quality of the voice, despite wise use of dynamics and portamento, does not sound young. Granted, neither did Nilsson nor Varnay, but they could wheedle and seduce and make us believe, and Bullock does not. Live it might be different–the sheer size might overwhelm us; but here I was not convinced. The Jokanaan of John Wegner comes nowhere near the best available; Michael Volle on the recent, mediocre DVD starring Nadja Michael is superb, as is Bryn Terfel elsewhere. They both are dangerous in their fanaticism and curses; Wegner is a half-size too small.
Sally Burgess is a terrific Herodias, obsessed, proud, vengeful, but every inch an imperial figure. John-Graham Hall, like most Herods, sounds like a mad scientist, but he is effective. Andrew Rees is a mellifluous Narraboth who sings with growing tension, as the character should, and the bickering of the Jews over religion is particularly vivid (and comprehensible in English).
As far as the language itself goes, I don’t have much to say. I like the rough consonants in German. When Jokanaan says “Sei verflucht, Tochter der blutschanderischen Mutter, sei verflucht,” the effect is far more vivid than the well-translated “Be accursed, daughter of a shameless, incestuous mother, be accursed.” But the English translation is good, and the 50 percent of the time we can understand what the cast is saying is enlightening. It’s no reason to buy the set–but Mackerras’ taut, almost too-close-for-comfort reading is a good reason, and so if you need another Salome recording, this will interest you. If you already have Nilsson/Solti or any one of the other superb readings available (Karajan’s, for another, and even the perverse Leinsdorf/Caballé) this will be superfluous. [11/24/2008]
