Opening night of Salome proved to be the first night of the Royal Opera’s 2022/23 season, although this was not by design. Don Giovanni was to have opened it the preceding evening, but the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II saw the performance cancelled as a mark of respect. Twenty-four hours later Salome did go ahead, preceded by a tribute led by Director of Opera Oliver Mears, a minute’s silence and the playing of the National Anthem by the Orchestra of...

What a surprise – it is very unusual to see a 35-year old opera production still performed with such subtle intensity in terms of acting and personal interaction. I assumed the Berliner Staatsoper has highly experienced evening supervisors for their performances (which they most likely have anyway) just to learn that Harry Kupfer himself oversaw the rehearsals of the revival of his 1979 Salome production – which made the audience follow the opera with high...