Having canceled Thursday’s performance of Don Giovanni as a mark of respect following the death of the Queen, the Royal Opera went ahead the following night with its revival – the fourth – of David McVicar’s 2008 production of Strauss’s Salome, conducted by Alexander Soddy, making his company debut, and with Malin Byström returning to the title role, which she also sang at Covent Garden in 2018.
Inevitably, we were aware we were hearing it at a turning point in history. A book of condolence had been opened in the foyer. The EIIR monogram on the Opera House curtains had been blacked out. People sang God Save the King after a minute’s silence. I wondered whether Strauss’s tragedy of uncontrolled desire might seem incongruous or surreal in the context. In fact, its emotional extremism felt even more cathartic than usual.
