Fasten your seat belts! There’s a hardcore new opera in town!

Cape Town - A newcomer to opera? Not sure if it’s really your thing?

Well, get ready for an exhilarating experience that might change everything you thought you knew about opera.

If you enjoyed Rocky Horror, Cabaret or West Side Story, this is a chance to see Mathew Wild direct his first production in his new role as Cape Town Opera’s artistic director.

Salome is the perfect libretto for a sought after and daring director who enjoys nothing more than walking the fine edge between kitsch and complexity.

Salome, one of his favorite operas, has beckoned him for many years. The opera is replete with iconic scenes – from the Dance of the Seven Veils to Salome kissing John the Baptist’s severed head – that promise unforgettable theatrical imagery.

Mathew Wild promises, “It’s short, outlandish and incredibly exciting!”

Dark and erotic

Strauss’ bloodthirsty and erotic biblical story still has the power to shock 100 years after it was first banned from the stage.

Full of dark depths, aching beauty and profound moral discomfort, Salome challenges assumptions about sex, death and religion.

Herodes, lusting after his young stepdaughter, is the epitome of debauchery. Can there be a more intense narrative arc as Salome journey from purity to necrophilia?

Salome is a big production in every sense of the word.

The talent

Lovers of classic music will seize the opportunity to hear acclaimed South African conductor Gerard Korsten, who has returned to Cape Town after 13 years to conduct a 72-member strong Cape Philharmonic Orchestra through Strauss’ virtuosic score.

South Africans have the rare opportunity to hear international opera singers play the leading roles.

British soprano Allison Oakes arrives fresh from a very successful debut at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in which reviewer James Karas praised Ms. Oakes for her “superb voice” and “outstanding performance”.

Tenor Allan Glassman has thrilled audiences throughout America and Europe for decades with his vibrant timbre and committed interpretations of roles. A regular at The Metropolitan Opera, he is a seasoned and highly acclaimed Herodes and has played the diabolical role again at the San Diego Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera San Antonio, and Dallas Opera.

Playing virtue to Herod’s vice is Grammy-award winning dramatic baritone, Richard Paul Fink, as Jochanaan, or John the Baptist. Dramatizing the conflict between heaven and hell, and the torment of a man torn between his commitment to God and a sudden physical attraction, Jochanaan’s 20 minutes on stage are among opera’s most intense and difficult.

Catch Salome 15, 17 and 19 March at the Artscape Opera House. Get tickets here!