Of the five performances of Salome starring Leonie Rysanek currently in the Leitmetzerin Sammlung, each one more demented than the last, the focus in this 1974 performance from Orange is (mostly) on the Herodes of Jon Vickers, a role I believe he sang only in this run of performances and never again. 

Having played brother and sister in Die Walküre, they here tackle the dynamics between stepdaughter and stepfather with even greater intensity. The superb cast features Thomas Stewart at the height of his career as Jochanaan, and the Herodias of Ruth Hesse.

Richard Strauss: Salome

Orchestre National de l’ORTF
Rudolf Kempe, conductor
Chorégies d’Orange
13 July 1974

Salome – Leonie Rysanek
Jochanaan – Thomas Stewart
Herodes – Jon Vickers
Herodias – Ruth Hesse
Narraboth – Horst R. Laubenthal
Ein Page – Marga Schiml
Erster Nazarener – Peter Lagger
Zweiter Nazarener – Klaus-Jürgen Küper
Erster Soldat – Victor von Halem
Zweiter Soldat – Xavier Tamalet
Erster Jude – Gérard Friedman
Zweiter Jude – Jürgen Förster
Dritter Jude – Willy Müller
Vierter Jude – Stan Unruh
Fünfter Jude – Horst Schäffer
Ein Cappadocier – Vladimir de Kanel
Ein Sklave – Thérèse Cédelle

Please Note that I have re-encoded last week’s audio of Il barbiere di Siviglia so that, hopefully, you can now enjoy this marvelous performance.