The opera is now part of the standard repertoire but retains a whiff of scandal. That necrophilia in it - it's disgusting and thrilling at the same time. That relationship has been portrayed in varyingly frank degrees of eroticism in thousands of stagings over the years. In recent years, some of the more buff and attractive sopranos to sing Salome have stripped down to the altogether. The New Testament is the ultimate source of the story, but it came to Strauss filtered through the overripe imagination of Oscar Wilde.
Every little shiver is in the notes.
The transparency and complexity of the score make it challenging to play. It also calls for an uncommonly large pit orchestra. Delfs used a leftover rehearsal service last spring to take an early swipe at the piece. It's a heavy-duty load for the conductor and the orchestra. At the end of it, I feel like a towel with every drop of water squeezed out of me.