Les Arts premieres Salome, the musical drama with which Strauss revolutionized opera, in a production by Damiano Michieletto and directed by James Gaffigan

Les Arts premieres Salome , the musical drama with which Strauss revolutionized opera, in a production by Damiano Michieletto and directed by James Gaffigan

• Soprano Vida Mikneviciuté, acclaimed for her performance of Salome in Milan and Vienna, makes her operatic debut in Spain
• Damiano Michiletto offers a contemporary and psychological interpretation with this striking production from La Scala in Milan.

Valencia (20.4.26). The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía presents Salome , the musical drama with which Richard Strauss revolutionized opera, from April 25 to May 9, in a stunning production by Damiano Michieletto for La Scala in Milan under the musical direction of James Gaffigan.

The artistic director of Les Arts, Jesús Iglesias Noriega, presented this title, “one of the most impactful in the entire repertoire”, accompanied by James Gaffigan, musical director, and Tamara Heimbrock, assistant stage director.

Iglesias Noriega highlighted the return of James Gaffigan, the institution's former music director, with a repertoire that brought to some of the most successful chapters in Les Arts' recent history, such as Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and The Flying Dutchman . He recalled that Salome was the first Richard Strauss opera performed by the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, and that Les Arts is reviving it for its twentieth anniversary season.

James Gaffigan, who recently conducted Strauss's opera at the Komische Oper Berlin, where he is principal conductor, noted that the score of Salome led to the creation of "a completely new musical language." "I remember hearing it for the first time as a student and thinking it was otherworldly," he said.

According to the New York maestro, it is a work of enormous complexity whose interpretation requires "understanding the musical gesture and knowing what is essential" in an orchestral writing of extraordinary density.

The staging is by Damiano Michieletto, one of today's most influential directors, acclaimed in Valencia for productions such as L'elisir d'amore , Il barbiere di Siviglia , Il viaggio a Reims , and Don Giovanni . In this production, the Venetian director offers a contemporary and psychological interpretation of the drama, presenting Salome as a product of a toxic family environment that determines her fate.

Michieletto's regular creative team completes the production originally conceived for La Scala, with set design by Paolo Fantin, costumes by Carla Teti, lighting by Alessandro Carletti, and choreography by Thomas Wilhelm. International critics have praised the visual power of the production and its ability to translate musical tension into powerful images, such as the celebrated Dance of the Seven Veils, presented here from a perspective of violence and disturbance.

Lithuanian soprano Vida Miknevičiūtė makes her operatic debut in Spain in the title role of Salome, one of the most demanding in the repertoire due to its vocal and dramatic intensity, in the same production with which she achieved resounding success with the discerning Milanese audience. A regular on prestigious stages such as Vienna and Salzburg, she stands out for the expressive power and rich nuance with which she constructs this complex character, an anti-heroine of great psychological depth who demands both lyricism and power.

American baritone Nicholas Brownlee, the sensation of last season's The Flying Dutchman , returns to Les Arts in the role of Jochanaan. Brownlee stands out as one of the most prominent Wagnerian voices of his generation, praised for his commanding projection and stage presence.

Two decades after his performance in Das Rheingold , British tenor John Daszak returns to the Main Hall to sing the role of Herod. A specialist in contemporary and Germanic repertoire, Daszak boasts extensive experience in roles of overwhelming dramatic intensity. German mezzo-soprano Michaela Schuster embodies Herodias, one of the most emblematic roles of her career, in what will be her first appearance at the Valencian arts center.

Christopher Sokolowski (Narraboth) and Lioba Braun (Herodias' Page) complete the main cast. The rest of the cast of Salome includes Jorge Rodríguez-Norton, Daniel Norman, Filipp Modestov, Mathias Frey and Horst Lamnek (Five Jews), Jiří Rajniš and Agshin Khudaverdiyev (Two Nazarenes), Tomeu Bibiloni and Alexander Milev (Two Soldiers), as well as Agustín Albornoz (Cappadocian) and Pablo Rubin-Jurado (Slave).

Salome will be performed in the Main Hall of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía on April 25 and 29, and May 3, 6, and 9. Tickets can be purchased at the theater box office, by phone at +34 96 197 59 00, and on the official Les Arts website.