It’s Halloween and here at Welsh National Opera we like to celebrate the only way we know how: with opera of course. Written and directed by Jerwood Directing Fellow Gareth Chambers, Salome is the perfect watch for a spooky evening.
The WNO Associate Director role was created in partnership with the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries programme Jerwood foundation to address the lack of working-class individuals working in creative roles within the opera industry. Gareth Chambers was awarded the role based on his experience as a dancer and choreographer, and his personal history and ambition made him the perfect fit to deliver a new digital project that explores tragedy, sexuality and horror through this reimagining of Wilde’s one-act tragedy. We talked to him about his inspirations, and why Salome was the perfect choice for him.
The idea for producing Salome as a short opera film came to Gareth during a conversation with mentor Sir David McVicar about opera’s role as a lens to view and make sense of the chaotic world that we live in. Strauss’ incredibly cinematic music and the recurring motifs enhanced from Wilde’s original play has meant that Salome remains a tense and engaging opera over 115 years after its inception.
The theatrical nature of Strauss’ music left Gareth wanting to pay homage to classic horror in cinema, and he explored Hammer Horror to find inspiration. Settling on Fonmon Castle in Barry as the gothic setting for the film. The replica Middle Ages chapel in the ground even had a mural depicting the life and death of St John the Baptist.
‘People still ask themselves why does she do it? Is it rejected desire? Revenge for her mother? Or does she just do what she likes? No one really knows the answer, it’s the mystery of evil’
The mystery of Salomé’s actions to behead St John the Baptist fascinated Gareth, and we see the anonymous character played and sung by Helen Field is wealthy, mysterious, and obsessive. Whatever her reasoning, Gareth uses her actions to represent the powerful and wealthy who abuse their status to commit heinous crimes.
‘The gay themes within the film are a response to the page for the captain of the guard, Narraboth. I believe Wilde created this character for a reason… he’s representation of the lived queer experience'
It was a deliberate choice for the young page to be one of the few characters in the play not to be attracted to Salome. When Narraboth’s approaches are rebuffed by Salome and the captain subsequently slits his own throat, the page is evidently distraught and laments that he once gave Narraboth ‘a box of perfumes and agate ring’. It is apparent that they were more than brothers in arms. It is often difficult to come across queer representation of this sort in opera, and Gareth laments the lack of realistic representation in mainstream pop culture.
Salome, Mystery of Evil by Gareth Chambers, featuring Helen Field is available to watch now.