A brand new adaptation, sung in English.
Music by Richard Strauss
Libretto from Hedwig Lachmann’s translation of the French play by Oscar Wilde.
English singing translation by Tom Hammond, used by permission of
English National Opera Benevolent Fund.
Co-Adapted by Jacob Ashworth and Elizabeth Dinkova
Newly Arranged by Dan Schlosberg
Directed by Elizabeth Dinkova
Music Directed by Jacob Ashworth
weLCOmE
“Welcome to Heartbeat Opera’s 2024-2025 Season and welcome to the Space at Irondale! Tonight brings to life many of Heartbeat Opera’s greatest dreams. For ten years now we have talked about tackling the world-changing work of theater that is Richard Strauss’s SALOME. And for almost as long, I have envisioned that in a few decades this country will be full of great companies doing opera in a language their audience understands — not through supertitles, but directly from the mouths of the actors on stage. As we began work on SALOME, I realized we could bring these two ambitions together. I was haunted by the image of an opera composer like Strauss, who broke the mold with the intensity of his dramatic writing, coming back from the dead to find that his beloved SALOME is being performed in German... for an audience who doesn't speak German!
So tonight — as one of the only American audiences in decades to hear this piece in English — come with us on this adventure, and relish the beauty of a singer expressing herself in her native tongue; of letting this piece grip you with the immediacy its original audiences experienced; of immersing yourself in this wildly intimate adaptation. ”
–Jacob Ashworth, Music Director of SALOME
So tonight — as one of the only American audiences in decades to hear this piece in English — come with us on this adventure, and relish the beauty of a singer expressing herself in her native tongue; of letting this piece grip you with the immediacy its original audiences experienced; of immersing yourself in this wildly intimate adaptation. ”
–Jacob Ashworth, Music Director of SALOME
“Every production of SALOME has to grapple with the Dance of the Seven Veils, passed down from Wilde to Strauss, in which SALOME sensually discards seven veils for King Herod’s pleasure. You might already be asking: will she, or won’t she, get naked in this production?
From the start, the opera thrusts us into the condition of voyeurism. As a security guard sits hypnotised by observation screens, his friend warns him, “It’s always dangerous, looking at people in that way. Terrible things may happen.” This form of tunnel vision is an inescapable condition of our society. In the documentary “Generation Wealth,” an expert opines, “At the end of a decaying culture, we retreat into our own comforting illusions; we build walls to cope with the reality around us. People spend more time with the people they see on tv than their actual neighbors.” As reality gets darker, we are magnetized by more and more incandescent fantasies, deliriously dancing ourselves to the end of the world.
But there's a difference between watching and seeing. The cast of characters populating SALOME are paranoid that a higher power might see their illicit actions and judge them (one of the more obscure Hebrew names for god, "El Roi," means the one who sees), and also terrified that nobody might be watching over them, or truly see them. The biggest tragedy of the opera and our current reality is not that we’re blocked from looking - we have more access than ever. It’s that our legacies, histories, beliefs, delusions might keep us from truly seeing each other. As SALOME laments at the point of no return, “But me, me, me, you have never seen. If you had looked at me, you would have been in love.”
You’re about to watch a new version of a tale obscured by so many veils - time, place, preconceptions. By deciding to set this opera in the present day and place you right in the middle of the action, feet away from a prisoner’s glass cage, we have attempted to blow off the layers of dust that cover the luminous flesh of the original. Our SALOME is naked - panting, bruised, beautiful, and unashamed.
Will you look at her?”
–Elizabeth Dinkova, Director of SALOME
From the start, the opera thrusts us into the condition of voyeurism. As a security guard sits hypnotised by observation screens, his friend warns him, “It’s always dangerous, looking at people in that way. Terrible things may happen.” This form of tunnel vision is an inescapable condition of our society. In the documentary “Generation Wealth,” an expert opines, “At the end of a decaying culture, we retreat into our own comforting illusions; we build walls to cope with the reality around us. People spend more time with the people they see on tv than their actual neighbors.” As reality gets darker, we are magnetized by more and more incandescent fantasies, deliriously dancing ourselves to the end of the world.
But there's a difference between watching and seeing. The cast of characters populating SALOME are paranoid that a higher power might see their illicit actions and judge them (one of the more obscure Hebrew names for god, "El Roi," means the one who sees), and also terrified that nobody might be watching over them, or truly see them. The biggest tragedy of the opera and our current reality is not that we’re blocked from looking - we have more access than ever. It’s that our legacies, histories, beliefs, delusions might keep us from truly seeing each other. As SALOME laments at the point of no return, “But me, me, me, you have never seen. If you had looked at me, you would have been in love.”
You’re about to watch a new version of a tale obscured by so many veils - time, place, preconceptions. By deciding to set this opera in the present day and place you right in the middle of the action, feet away from a prisoner’s glass cage, we have attempted to blow off the layers of dust that cover the luminous flesh of the original. Our SALOME is naked - panting, bruised, beautiful, and unashamed.
Will you look at her?”
–Elizabeth Dinkova, Director of SALOME
“SALOME opens with a mysterious, beguiling clarinet solo that contains the raw material of Strauss's monumental score, returning over and over again as a kind of beacon (or death knell?) and tying the musical fabric together. I exploded this into a band of 8 clarinetists playing a total of 28 instruments, and 2 percussionists, imbuing the orchestration with a sense of brutal claustrophobia and sonic oppression. Each player is a soloist, playing lines meant for over a hundred musicians with extreme virtuosity — an intense concentration of sound, at once primal and entirely decadent.”
–Dan Schlosberg, Music Arranger for SALOME
–Dan Schlosberg, Music Arranger for SALOME
CAST
Salome // Summer Hassan
Herod // Patrick Cook
Jokanaan // Nathaniel Sullivan
Herodias // Manna K Jones
Narraboth // David Morgans
Page // Melina Jaharis
Soldier // Jeremy Harr
Salome (alternate) // Francesca Federico
BAND
Conductor // Jacob Ashworth
Clarinets // Yu-Ting Cheng
Clarinets // Nikki Pet
Clarinets // Jen Augello
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Soprano and Alto Saxophones, Recorder // Louis Arques
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone // David Valbuena
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet // Nadeen Fankhauser
Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones, Recorder, Electric Guitar // Doug Wieselman
Contrabass Clarinet, Soprano and Alto Saxophones, Recorder // Jasper Shogo Dutz
Percussion // Katherine Fortunato
Percussion // Stella Perlic
CREATIVE & PRODUCTION TEAM
Director // Elizabeth Dinkova
Music Director // Jacob Ashworth
Scenic Designer // Emona Stoykova
Costume Designer // Mika Eubanks
Lighting Designer // Emma Deane
Video & Sound Design // John Gasper
Props Designer // Madisen Frazier
Stage Manager // Natalie Wagner
Choreographer // Emma Jaster
Fight & Intimacy Director // Rick Sordelet
Production Manager // Beth Ann Mastromarino
Technical Director // Ray Rodriguez
Assistant Director // Gregory Keng Strasser
Assistant Stage Manager // Alex Magallanes
Associate Costume Designer // Allison Esannason
Asst. Music Director / Orchestra Manager // Jake Eisner
Supertitles Design & Operation // Nicholas Betson
Props Assistant // Georgia Reichard
Wardrobe & Wigs Supervisor // Linnea Soderberg
English Coach // Lauren Singerman
Repetiteur // Po-Wei Ger
2nd Repetiteur // Peiwen Chen
THE BOARD
Thérèse Esperdy, Chair
Sonja Berggren
Elizabeth Diamond
Stephen M. Foster
Ethan Heard
Louisa Proske
Debra Valentine
Robert Fitzpatrick, Chair Emeritus (in memoriam)
HEARTBEAT OPERA TEAM
Jacob Ashworth // Artistic Director
Christian De Gré Cárdenas // Executive Director
Dan Schlosberg // Music Director
Nicole Cantos // Communications Manager
Nikki Vera // Marketing Specialist
Jesse R. Tendler // Line Producer
Jasmine Galante // Associate Producer
Kodi Milburn // Assistant Line Producer
Warren Mullinnix // Administrative Intern
Aleba Gartner // Publicity
Arts FMS // Financial Consultants
Photo credit: Russ Rowland
special thankS
To Interim PM & TD Sarah Schetter, Andrew Hadro, Barry Centanni, Daniel Mesta, Drew McConnell, Gitano, Jamelah Rimawi, Louis Arques, Opera America, Sandbox Percussion, Bernd Schachtstiek, Sylvia Hughes, Stephen Foster, Baryshnikov Arts Center, and all of our fabulous volunteers.
comInG SOOn:
FAUST
Get ready, because we’re back! This May 13–25, Heartbeat Opera returns to our beloved stomping ground at Baruch Performing Arts Center with an electrifying production of FAUST! We’re thrilled to welcome the incredibly talented Sara Holdren, making her Heartbeat Opera debut as director. Trust us—you won’t want to miss this!
Special Offer Alert: Save $20 on most tickets with promo code DESIRE—but hurry! This offer expires on Sunday, February 23, 2025.
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10th Annual Drag Extravaganza
October 27th to November 8th, 2025 at Judson Memorial Church
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Support
Heartbeat Opera’s Spring Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Heartbeat Opera is also proud to be supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation
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