Salome, Op. 54, is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann's German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. The play Salome is a tragedy by Oscar Wilde. The original 1891 version of the play was in French. Three years later an English translation was published. The play tells in one act the Biblical story of Salome, stepdaughter of the tetrarch Herod Antipas, who, to her stepfather's dismay but to the delight of her mother Herodias, requests the head of Jokanaan (John the Baptist) on a silver platter as a reward for dancing the dance of the seven veils. The final scene is frequently heard as a concert-piece for dramatic sopranos.

Cast:

Salome – Birgit Nilsson

Herod – Gerhard Stolze

Herodias – Grace Hoffman

Jokanaan (John the Baptist) – Eberhard Wachter

Vienna Philharmonic

Sir Georg Solti – conductor

Decca - 1962