‘Salome’ and ‘Morgiane’ Review: Reinvention and Excavation

Heartbeat Opera presents a radically stripped down and re-orchestrated version of Strauss’s classic in Brooklyn; in Manhattan, Opera Lafayette and OperaCréole staged the world-premiere production of what is thought to be the oldest existing opera by a black American.

By 

Heidi Waleson

Feb. 11, 2025 at 11:45 am ET

Melina Jaharis, Patrick Cook and Jeremy Harr in ‘Salome.’ PHOTO: ANDREW BOYLE

New York

Heartbeat Opera, now in its 11th season, radically rethinks classics, and its new “Salome,” adapted by Jacob Ashworth and Elizabeth Dinkova and playing at the Space at Irondale in Brooklyn, is no exception. It’s sung in a sharp English translation by Tom Hammond and slightly trimmed—the squabbling Jews and Nazarenes are eliminated, a few of their lines reassigned. But the biggest adjustment is Dan Schlosberg’s typically maverick orchestral arrangement, which distills Richard Strauss’s enormous orchestra to eight clarinetists and two percussionists. All play multiple instruments (bass clarinet, recorder and saxophones are in the mix), but the overall timbral similarity creates a weird, claustrophobic, even threatening atmosphere, exacerbated by the smallness of the theater space, with the performers hemmed in by the audience on two sides. The singers need not fight to overcome a vast orchestral sound as they might in a traditional production, yet their voices seem to ricochet desperately off the walls. It’s “Salome” unfiltered, uncushioned by strings, exposed with a naked ferocity. All the characters are on the edge, and there is no escape for them.

Summer Hassan PHOTO: ANDREW BOYLE

Ms. Dinkova’s staging updates the piece to contemporary times. In Emona Stoykova’sgritty scenic design, Narraboth and the Page monitor security cameras showing the rooms inside Herod’s grand house (one image features the inaudibly arguing Jews). Jokanaan is always visible in his prison, a clear-walled cube at center stage. Watching and surveillance are the central motifs, taken to extremes—Herod ogles Salome; Salome drools over Jokanaan’s pale skin and red mouth; Jokanaan, holy prophet or not, is seriously tempted by her allure. Ms. Dinkova’s detailed direction of the Salome-Jokanaan encounter is unusually steamy (and mutual) with soprano Summer Hassan sporting prom-dress layers of pink tulle and baritone Nathaniel Sullivan in only a shredded T-shirt and underpants. (Mika Eubanksdesigned the costumes; Emma Deane the precise lighting.) The Dance of the Seven Veils, choreographed by Emma Jaster, neatly includes all the characters in its objectification and sexual violence. No one is innocent, and Salome’s demand for the head of Jokanaan seems perfectly understandable in context.

The splendid cast displayed absolute theatrical commitment. Ms. Hassan’s fierce, clarion soprano found Salome’s humanity, whether as a flirty teenager, corrupted siren, or wounded victim lashing out; she was mesmerizing, even sympathetic, in the grotesque final scene of necrophilia. Mr. Sullivan’s lyrical baritone underscored Jokanaan’s vulnerability, as did his near-nakedness and poignant gaze. Tenor Patrick Cook was a frantic, untrammeled Herod; Manna K. Jones a disgusted Herodias. David Morgans (Narraboth), Melina Jaharis (Page), and Jeremy Harr (Soldier) were persuasive in the supporting roles; having the Soldier be a Christian convert here provided good musical and theatrical options. Jacob Ashworth was the fine conductor, drawing out the subtleties of this unconventional but potent adaptation.

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Joshua Conyers, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Chauncey Packer and Patrick Quigley PHOTO: JENNIFER PACKARD

One of the more interesting musical resurrections of recent years is Edmond Dédé’s opera “Morgiane, ou, Le Sultan d’Ispahan,” performed in concert on Wednesday at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall by Opera Lafayette in partnership with OperaCréole of New Orleans. Born in New Orleans to a free family of color, Dédé (1827-1901), a violinist, studied and performed in his hometown and in Mexico City; in 1855, he went to France in search of safety and greater opportunity. For three decades, he found success as a conductor and composer in Bordeaux’s music-hall scene, writing over 250 songs, ballet scores, and one-act operettas; after retiring, he moved to Paris.

“Morgiane,” completed in 1887, was never staged; it is thought to be the oldest existing opera by a black American. Its 545-page manuscript was unearthed in 2008 by a cataloger from a collection at Harvard University, and the two opera companies collaborated on the expensive task of preparing the work for its first-ever performances.

The four-act piece, set in an imaginary Persia, is an intriguing amalgam of a pair of classic French traditions, grand opera and operetta. Louis Brunet’s libretto could have gone either way. Amine, a young bride, is abducted by the cruel Sultan to be his consort. Her parents and husband set off to rescue her; when they are threatened with death, her mother, Morgiane, reveals that Amine is the Sultan’s daughter, and all ends happily. Dédé’s musical organization leans in the direction of potential tragedy rather than operetta romp, with a big orchestra, rhythms smoothed into dirges, and arias and choruses extended beyond their logical ending points, for a total of about 2 1/2 hours of music.

However, the piece is really about the tunes, which are appealing but slight, not helped by Dédé’s efforts to give them extra heft. While a few numbers stand out—there’s a touching a capella quartet for Amine and her family as they prepare to die; an eloquent woodwind and horn accompaniment for the Sultan’s musings about love and power; and Morgiane’s revelation aria that is pure operetta—the whole doesn’t cohere into a satisfying musical-dramatic arc.

Nicole Cabell (center) PHOTO: JENNIFER PACKARD

The star of the all-black cast was soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams in the title role—big-voiced, utterly committed, with excellent French diction. As Amine, soprano Nicole Cabell made the most of her agile coloratura; tenor Chauncey Packer was fervent but ran out of steam as Amine’s husband, Ali. Baritone Joshua Conyers sounded woolly as Morgiane’s husband, Hassan; bass Kenneth Kelloggwas glued to his score and missed any dramatic subtleties in the rumbling role of the Sultan; bass-baritone Jonathan Woody was vibrantly nasty as Beher, the Sultan’s henchman. The OperaCréole Ensemble chorus sounded under-rehearsed, as did the Opera Lafayette Orchestra, under the efficient leadership of conductor Patrick Dupre Quigley.

Ms. Waleson writes on opera for the Journal and is the author of “Mad Scenes and Exit Arias: The Death of the New York City Opera and the Future of Opera in America” (Metropolitan).