In the Munich performance, Lilian Benningsen sings Herodias, not Jean Madeira

Most opera lovers know Birgit Nilsson was an exciting Salome and here are two different performances about a year apart to confirm that. The Swedish cast is excellent; I am more enthusiastic about them than Andy in his comments above. The Herod and Herodias sing better than their German language counterparts in the bonus performance. They get their points across without screaming or turning their music into sprechstimme. Sigurd Bjorling had a fine voice and he sings with great involvement and beauty. A young Kerstin Meyer is the Page and one can hear the quality of voice from her first line. The Narraboth, admittedly, is rather unsteady of voice, but he doesn't stick around long anyway. The rest of the singers are first-rate. Nilsson would deepen her interpretation with more experience, but vocally she is already most impressive. Ehrling leads a good, if at times a little tame performance. Salome goes well in Swedish too! The sound is mostly very good, a few minor tape blips notwithstanding. Andy has generously given us half of a Munich Salome from the next year. Nilsson remains a marvel. Aldenhoff's vibrato is sometimes so wide it's difficult to discern which pitch he's attempting to sing. Metternich is heard from offstage as Jokanaan. Jean Madeira is listed as Herodias, but it's definitely someone else. Among the ensemble I recognized Paul Kuen as the First Jew. Salome and Nilsson lovers will really enjoy these performances.

Despite somewhat muffled sound (give it a volume boost and everything's OK), this Stockholm broadcast makes a persuasive case for opera in the vernacular. How does "Salome" sound in Swedish? Pretty darn suave. The central element of interest will be Birgit Nilsson's maiden voyage as Salome. Age 36 would normally be a bit early for tackling the Judean princess but Nilsson was no ordinary singer. Interestingly, her performance is more contained and intimate than it would later become, and -- to mix idioms, there's an *innigkeit* that derives from singing in her mother tongue. The young Kerstin Meyer (Page) is obviously on the way to greater things, Sigurd Bjoerling is a formidable Jochanaan, with or without cistern amplification, and the royal pair is especially intriguing. Margareta Bergstroem is a Herodias not to be taken lightly and Arne Hendriksen's fascinating, sweet-toned Herod is a playboy sort of tetrach of Judea. Berislav Klobucar conducts expertly but ...... the subtle lilt of Joseph Keilberth in a lengthy excerpt from a 1955 Munich performance is just that much more convincing. This is an example of the 'international style' of performing Strauss and mostly focuses on Herod and Herodias (Jean Madeira). Bernd Aldenhoff's tetrach is always riveting, if not as unique as Hendriksen's. Nilsson's inflections don't have quite the hand-in-glove specificity of her Swedish ones, so Andy is to be thanked for including this most informative comparison piece. (And, is my ear deceiving me or is that Paul Kuen as First Jew.) Josef Metternich, by the way, is an impressive a Jochanaan as Bjoerling. Would that the entirety of this performance were available. 1955 was a banner year for Nilsson in Munich: She and Aldenhoff also headlined a Hans Knappertsbusch-led "Gotterdammerung" that deserves Opera Depot reissue.