This is an immensely satisfying performance of Salome. Jones is in excellent voice and sings the eponymous heroine with full, colorful, mostly wobble free tone. Mödl may have been in her mid-60s with a wreck of a voice, but she could have spoken the text and been just as effective. She still manages to get up to the top B-flat at "Ich will nicht haben daß sie tanzt!" Hopf mostly sings Herod's music very accurately with a little sprechstimme here and there (almost impossible to avoid with this part.) His final lashing "Man tötet dieses Weib!" is frightening in its hatred and scorn. Weikl brings compassion to Jokanaan and sings beautifully. The supporting cast is superb as is Rieger's conducting.This derives from an in-house source and the tapist, except for one brief noisy part early on disc two, is thankfully quiet. The voices sound only slightly recessed, giving a better idea of what the performance sounded like in the house.Recommended to all fans of the opera and/or singers.

Absolutely – certain roles are made for certain singers and Dame Gwyneth and Salome surely meshed absolutely. I didn’t see her on stage in the role until quite late in her career (1986) but she was still stupendous and, to quote the Musical Times, gave “perhaps the most comprehensive performance of the Dance of the Seven Veils I have ever seen.” She really found a way to match the choreography to her physical abilities and her awareness of her own beauty served merely to enhance her portrayal of Salome. I haven;t yet heard this Munich performance but do have the commercial set.