Salome at the Houston Grand Opera

Strauss’s erotic psychodrama Salome returns to HGO with the U.S. premiere from Spanish director Francisco Negrin, who makes his company debut with this gripping production. Based on the scandalous play by Oscar Wilde, the opera recounts the story of a deeply disturbed princess who has fallen in love with Jokanaan (also known as John the Baptist). After he denies her advances, she performs the infamous and seductive Dance of the Seven Veils for King Herod in exchange for John’s head. Soprano Amanda Majeski is set to make a stunning HGO debut by taking on the title role, one of the greatest challenges in the operatic repertoire, for the first time. She is joined by three Houston favorites and HGO Studio alumni: bass-baritone Ryan McKinny as Jokanaan, tenor Chad Shelton as Herod, and mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves as Herodias. HGO’s internationally acclaimed Principal Guest Conductor, Eun Sun Kim, takes the podium.