can be. Braid’s portrayal of the Judean princess is unnerving in its realism, devoid of any archetypes about royalty or bratty teenage girls. Right away, we’re dropped into Salome’s obsession with Jochanaan, and Braid carries us from curiosity to lust to sheer rage without a dramatic beat left empty. And she does it all with the voice – be it her round, glinting soprano or the near-feral utterings of Salome at her worst.
Egoyan uses the famous Dance of the Seven Veils – which he calls “the most famous striptease in history” – to tell us that Salome has a history with abuse. As opera’s sexiest music begins to play, the stage gives way to film projections on a fluttering screen. First we get flashback scenes – a charming backyard, a smiling young girl – and then we get a real dance, shown with a gorgeous bit of shadow-play by performers Clea Minaker and Faye Dupras.
I’ll pass.