Salome by Richard Strauss Metropolitian Opera NYC, 1 March 89 When the curtain rose on this production, perhaps a third of the Metropolitian Opera audience began to boo and hiss. The effect was shocking: a dark, futuristic, science-fiction set with players in black leather and chains scattered across it. Angled lighting added to the sense of high-tech malevolence, and as the production progressed, this feeling grew and dominated the performance. Done in one long, sustained act, the opera built a powerful feeling of obsession, decadence and evil-exactly the themes it seeks to illuminate. It was well sung, well acted and splendidly staged. I left it feeling exhilerated and enligtened. It was not difficult to feel Salome's demented obsession or the complicity of Herod in this production. The evil feelings and out-of-control emotions enveloped the entire hour and 45 minute experience. Eva Marton sang the title role bravely. She was a wild-eyed and crazy Salome throughout, exhibiting the compulsion and obsession convincingly. Her costume was an odd choice: alongside the leather-biker supporting cast and the Sci-Fi plumage of the other leading characters, her slightly frumpy, pink housecoat attire seemed oddly out of place. It was so clearly purposful that I wondered many times what it was intended to convey. (For me, it failed: I was only distracted, and think I would have much preferred her in an costume as wild and splendid as Herodias'). Miss Marton also was called on to dance the seven veils toward the end of the production, and I supposeshe did it about as well as you could hope for a world-class soprano to dance. Herodias was also vigorously acted and well sung. Herod seemed a little over-ripe for his role, but Narraboth and all the other supperting caset were very effective. Weikl's John the Baptist was ethereal to distraction for my taste, but worked effectively. I found this a very effective and exciting production. Conductor: Marek Janowski; production: Nikolaus Lehnoff; set/costume: Jurgen Rose; Salome: Marton; Herod: Richard Cassilly; Herodias: Helga Dernesch; Jochanaan: Bernd Weikl; Narraboth: Neil Rosenshein.