Radio announcer Dan Kane will introduce “Salome” by Richard Strauss and lead discussion as part of “Opera at the Arms” at 2 p.m. Friday, July 13 at the Oak Park Arms retirement community, 408 S. Oak Park Ave. The public is welcome to attend and enjoy the event.
“Salome” is based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play “Salome” by Oscar Wilde. It was first performed on December 9, 1905 in Dresden. Within two years, it had been given in 50 other opera houses.
The controversial opera is famous (at the time of its premiere, infamous) for its “Dance of the Seven Veils.”
The United States premiere took place at a special performance by the Metropolitan Opera on January 22, 1907. The mixed reviews were summarized “that musicians were impressed by the power displayed by the composer,” but “the story is repugnant to Anglo-Saxon minds.”
Afterwards, under pressure from wealthy patrons, further performances were cancelled, and it was not performed again at the Met until 1934. These patrons entreated the visiting Edward Elgar to lead the objections to the work, but he refused point-blank, stating that Strauss was “the greatest genius of the age.”
Oak Park Arms Senior Living is a rental retirement community which provides senior housing in the form of independent living. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information call 708-386-4040.
