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| David Pittsinger as Jokanaan (John the Baptist), Kelly Cae Hogan as Salome, Ric Furman as Narraboth © Cory Weaver / Portland Opera |
The opera is loosely based on the New Testament story as
retold by Oscar Wilde. The events center
on Herod’s imprisonment of Jokanaan (John the Baptist) on the behalf of Herod’s
wife, Herodias. She had divorced her first husband in order to marry his
brother (Herod), and that marriage was considered illegal and immoral by Jokanaan.
Herod and the captain of the guard (Narraboth) are bewitched by Herodias’s
daughter Salome, but she ignores both of them because she is obsessed with Jokanaan.
Herodias wants Herod to do away with Jokanaan, but Herod is afraid of Jokanaan, who is considered a holy man. Salome
becomes so fixated on Jokanaan that she wants to kiss his lips and have him as
a lover, but he is repulsed by her and refuses her. As you can guess, these
obsessions lead to no good end.
Sashaying about in a flouncy prom gown, Hogan’s Salome reveled
in an emphatic and unquenchable desire for Jokanaan that was palpable enough to
draw a combination of nervous laughter and gasps of disbelief from some of the
audience. Her soprano delivery was secure and spot-on throughout the
performance, even when she was enraptured with the decapitated head of Jokanaan.
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| Kelly Cae Hogan as Salome © Cory Weaver / Portland Opera |
As Jokanaan, David Pittsinger sang and acted like a man
possessed, but in some louder passages, the orchestra overwhelmed his voice,
which was consistently lovely, even in the most stentorian passages. Alan Woodrow
ably conveyed a decadent Herod whose desperate infatuation for Salome got him
into trouble. Woodrow’s helden tenor voice easily scaled up and over the many
high passages, embodying the highly emotional state of Herod’s character. Rosalind
Plowright created a cool and calculating Herodias whose willful personality was
second to none except her daughter’s. Ric
Furman’s Narraboth was totally smitten with Salome, and when she touched him,
he practically melted into a puddle. His singing was exceptional, conveying paroxysms
of youth and naiveté.
The principals were supported by cast of excellent singers
in lesser roles, including Melissa Fajardo as the Page to Herodias, Jonathan
Kimple as the First Soldier, Konstantin Kvach as the Second Soldier, Andre Flyn
as a Cappadocian. Jon Kolbet, Ian Jose
Ramierez, Carl Halvorson, Marcus Shelton, and Darren Stokes formed the contingent
of Jews while Anton Belov and David represented the Nazarenes.
George Manahan led an inspired performance by the Portland
Opera Orchestra, which explored the many dynamic contrasts of Strauss’s music,
such as the wind that Herod only could hear and the lingering tones just before
Jokanaan was beheaded.
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| Kelly Cae Hogan as Salome, Alan Woodrow as Herod, Rosalind Plowright as Herodias in Portland Opera's Salome © Cory Weaver / Portland Opera |
Director Stephen Lawless deftly delayed some actions as long
as possible in order to heighten the drama, such as when Jokanaan stepped out
of his cell for the first time and also when his severed head was not revealed
until near the end of Salome’s final, long aria. Also impressive was the moment
when Jokanaan poured sand over Salome as he suggested that she get baptized by
the Sea of Galilee. However, one of the more odd gestures was Narraboth's strange
fascination with his knife before he killed himself with it.
The production, designed by Benoit Dugardyn for Portland
Opera, updated the story to contemporary times, placing it somewhere in bombed-out
shell of a palace somewhere in the Middle East. A huge collapsed floor served
as a platform for part of the action. Directly above, most of the roof had been
blown away, exposing the nighttime sky. A stairway on the right-hand side skirted
a big holding tank where Jokanaan was held.
The Dance of the Seven Veils, choreographed by Matthew
Farrao, was marvelously conveyed by six dancers, suggesting the Herod’s confused
emotional state. As the dance drew to a close, he discovered the real Salome, but
his infatuation remained strong until he found her later. The sheer
repulsiveness of her state of rapture with Jokanaan’s severed head is the final
impression of this opera, proving that “Salome” still has the power to shock.
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| Portland Opera's Salome © Cory Weaver / Portland Opera |
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