(++) Salomé (Salome / 1893 Wilde), play

Salomé <French> (1893) is a play by Oscar Wilde.

Abstract

Smashing success was widely translated and performed, fueling the "Salomania" in every corner of Europe and America and inspired uncountable works of art. Salome became the embodiment of the femme fatale who seduces and destroys her lover.

Oscar Wilde wrote the play in French in 1891-92, after seeing in Paris a well-known series of Gustave Moreau’s pictures inspired by the same theme. In 1892, actress Sarah Bernhardt saw the manuscript. Ignorant, or forgetful, of the English law prohibiting the introduction of Scriptural characters on the stage, she made an attempt to perform the play and started rehearsals. but was not granted permission.

Eventually, the play was first staged in Paris (1896) and then in Breslau (1901) and Berlin (1902).

"A la fin du XIXe siècle, le mythe de Salomé suscite chez les artistes une fascination à nulle autre pareille : la princesse de Judée, qui incarne la femme " naturelle, c'est-à-dire abominable " selon le mot de Baudelaire, devient une figure majeure de l'imaginaire décadent, inspirant indifféremment peintres, poètes et romanciers ... De cette danseuse fatale, Wilde donna dans Salomé (1893) l'une des interprétations les plus marquantes de l'histoire de la littérature. La tension croissante de ce drame en un acte traduit la montée du désir monstrueux de Salomé, la fille d'Hérodias, pour le prophète Iokanaan ... Cruauté, sacrilège, étrangeté et érotisme se mêlent dans cette pièce dont Mallarmé salua les perpétuels traits éblouissants et dont Pierre Loti a pu dire : " C'est beau et sombre comme un chapitre de l'Apocalypse."--Publisher description.

Editions

Published in French in Paris: Librairie de l'art indépendant; and London, England: Elkin Mathews and John Lane, 1893.

Translations

The English ed. by Alfred Douglas, with illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, appeared in London, England: Mathews and Lane, 1894.

Performances

Stage productions

1896 - Paris production (world premiere)

Theatre de Oeuvre, 11 February 1896 - Directed by Aurélien Lugné-Poe - Lina Munte (Salome); Maz Barbier (John the Baptist); Aurélien Lugné-Poe (Herod Antipas); Gina Barbieri (Herodias) - After a failed attempt by Sarah Bernardt to stage the play in London, Wilde's work premiered in Paris in the original French text. It was coldly received.

1901 - Breslau production

1902 - Berlin production

Kleiner Theater, 15 November 1902 - Directed by Max Reinhardt, stage director - Gertrud Eysoldt (Salome); Friedrich Kayssler (John the Baptist); Emanuel Reicher (Herod Antipas); Luise Dumont (Herodias) - After the Paris premiere in Paris in 1896. Wilde's play became a sensation in Berlin, where Max Reinhardt's production was enthusiastically received. Painter Lovis Corinth and sculptor Max Kruse designed the exotic costumes and settings in period. The music was by Max Marschalk and Friedric Bermann.

1903 - Copenhagen production

Dagmar Theatre, 1903 - Salome, Danish ed. (1903 / @1893 Wilde), Copenhagen production (play) --

1903 - Munich production (German)

Salome, German ed. (1903 / @1893 Wilde), Munich production (play), starring Lili Marburg (Salome) 25 August 1903)

1903 - Berlin production, revival (German)

Neues Theater, 29 September 1903 - Directed by Max Reinhardt, stage director - Tilla Durieux (Salome); Max Eisfeldt (John the Baptist); Ludwig Wullner (Herod Antipas); Luise Dumont (Herodias)

Salome, German ed. (1903 Fellner / @1893 Wilde), Vienna production (play), starring Adele Hartwig (Salome) Deutsches Volkstheater, December 1903

Salome, German ed. (1903 Reinhardt / @1893 Wilde), Budapest production (play) -- Performed by the Reinhardt Company from Berlin. -- May 1903

Salomé, Italian ed. (1904 / @1893 Wilde), Milan production (play) -- Milan production - Teatro dei Filodrammatici -- Mario Fumagalli Herod Antipas -- Edvige Reinach Salome -- Italian ed. by G. Bonaspetti and S. Benelli.

Salome, Dutch ed. (1904 Brondgeest / @1893 Wilde), Rotterdam production (play) -- Rotterdam, Netherlands: Tivoli Theatre, 1904 -- Also staged in The Hague and Delft

Salome, Czech ed. (1905 Kvapil / @1893 Wilde), Prague production (play) -- Prague, Bohemia: National Theatre, 1905 - Jaroslav Kvapil, director

Salome, Croatian ed. (1905 Bach / @1893 Wilde), Zagreb production (play) -- Zagreb, Croatia; National Theatre, 1905. -- Josip Bach, director

Salome, Finnish ed. (1905 / @1893 Wilde), Helsinki production (play) -- Helsinki, Finland; Finnish Theatre, 1905.

Salome, Slovenian ed. (1905 Dobrovolny / @1893 Wilde), Ljubljana production (play) -- Ljubljana, Slovenian; National Theatre, 1905. -- Josipina Kreisova Salome -- Adolf Dobrovolny, director --Czech or Slovenian?

Salome, English ed. (1905 Farr / @1893 Wilde), London production (play)

Salome, English ed. (1905 @1893 Wilde), New York production (play), starring Mercedes Leigh (Salome) -- Progressive Stage Society, Berkeley Lyceum Theatre, New York

Salome, English ed. (1906 Ricketts / @1893 Wilde), London production (play) -- London, England: Literary Theatre Society, National Sporting Club, King's Hall, Covent Garden, 10 & 18 June 1906 -- Charles Ricketts, production -- starring Letitia Darragh (Salome), Robert Farquharson (Herod Antipas), and Florence Farr (Herodias), Lewis Casson (John the Baptist]]

Salome, Catalan ed. (1910 @1893 Wilde), Barcelona production (play) -- Barcelona, Spain: Teatro Principal, 5 February 1910 -- Margarita Xirgu (Salome) <Catalan> -- Tr. Joaquim Pena.

Salome, English ed. (1911 @1893 Wilde / Williams), London production (play) -- London, England: The New Players, Royal Court Theatre, 27 & 28 February 1911 -- Harcourt Williams, producer -- Adeline Bourne = Salome / Herbert Grimwood (Herod Antipas) / Arthur Wontner (John the Baptist) / Edyth Oliver (Herodias)

Salome (1912 @1893 Wilde), Prague production (play) -- National Theatre, Prague, 1912

Salome (1912 Sanine / @1893 Wilde), Paris production (play) -- Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, 12-19 June 1912 -- Alexandre Sanine, director -- Ida Rubinstein (Salome), Eduoard de Max (Herod) - Set design Leon Baskst

Salome, Spanish ed. (1913 @1893 Wilde), Madrid production (play) -- Madrid, Spain: Teatro de la Princesa, 1913 -- Margarita Xirgu (Salome) <Spanish>

Salome, Russian ed. (1917 Tairov / @1893 Wilde), Moscow production (play) -- Moscow, Russia: Kamerny Theatre, 1917 -- Russian premiere. Directed by Aleksander Tairov -- Cubist-inspired sets and costumes. Trans Konstantin Balmont