Orchestra Wellington conducted by Marc Taddei
To set off the theme of 'Myth and Ritual', Orchestra Wellington opened with the 'Dance of the Seven Veils', Richard Strauss' opera 'Salome'. Based on the play by Oscar Wilde which explores themes of sexual obsession. Salome famously requested of her step-father, King Herod, the head of John the Baptist on a platter as a reward for her dance. Strauss didn’t name the dance himself, and in fact it's the name Oscar Wilde coined that’s now associated with the piece. The music begins with whirling percussion and brass before settling into languorous exoticism leading to the final wild dance.
Recorded by RNZ Concert at the Michael Fowler Centre, 03 June, 2023
Producer, engineer: David Houston
