Richard Strauss's Salome (1905) helped set the tone for iconoclastic opera in the 20th century. Shattering most of the genre's conventions — formulaic plots, vocal characterization, propriety — this tale of lust, incest, and decollation may still shock some viewers, but it has become a modern classic. Although Washington National Opera last staged it as recently as 2002, Washington audiences should be pleased to have another chance to hear it, in an excellent concert version... more ›