Salome Returns: Asmik Grigorian at Grafenegg

Asmik Grigorian arrived at Grafenegg as the festival’s major operatic draw, but the evening took time to find its force. The soprano, an international star since her breakthrough as Salome at the 2018 Salzburg Festival, performed with the Tonkunstler Orchestra of Lower Austria under Fabien Gabel.

The concert opened with Ottorino Respighi’s “Fountains of Rome,” a choice the review calls unsuccessful. The symphonic poem sets four of Rome’s fountains to music, but its exposed wind solos proved difficult. Despite a full stage that included piano, organ and celesta, Gabel’s efforts did not produce the refined sound the piece required.

Grigorian eventually appeared in a striking red-and-black Gothic dress with an extravagant feather collar. Her “Casta Diva” from Bellini’s “Norma” displayed assured vocal technique, though it did not reach the heart this time. In the first half, the surprise highlight was the ballet music from Verdi’s “Macbeth,” where the Tonkunstler Orchestra made its strongest impression.

After the interval, Salome became the evening’s dominant figure. Mel Bonis’s atmospheric and mysterious contribution from “Trois Femmes de légende” lasted only four minutes, leaving it more suggestive than fully developed. Richard Strauss’s famous “Dance of the Seven Veils” followed, often performed separately from the opera.

Then Grigorian returned in red feathers for the role that made her a global sensation in Salzburg. As Salome, the rejected seductress demanding Jochanaan’s head, she drew fully on her vocal and dramatic range in the final song, “Ah! You would not let me kiss your mouth.”

The orchestra, finally audibly swept into the drama, supported what the review describes as a genuine dream quarter-hour. The concert only truly got under the skin in its final section, but there Grigorian and the ensemble found the intensity the evening had been waiting for.

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Ah! You would not let me kiss your mouth.