The Met's Salome at the movies

I've been a big fan of the Metroplitan Opera's movie theater broadcast series in the past, but this broadcast of Salome (the repeat transmission on Oct 22 of the Oct 11 live broadcast) didn't work for me. It was the first time that seeing it as a broadcast was noticeably inferior to the live theater. Sure, I know that hearing the singing from speakers just isn't the same, but usually its fine enough to hear a recording of the music. But this time, the thrill of the music wasn't quite there. Maybe partly it was because I know what a thrill the full force of Karita Mattila's voice can be when heard live. The recording couldn't do it justice.

But maybe worse, tthe camera work was too close and too fussy - this time it wasn't so good to be so close on everyone's faces. The production was so busy and everyone's acting so big that being close was flattering to no one, least of all to Mattila herself. While her character proclaims to be youthful in sung libretto, the camera shows Mattila to be anything but, and the striptease she does is even less flattering. Maybe because I watch plenty of real dancers, but her Dance of the Seven Veils looked awkward and decidedly unseductive, irregardless of her ability to do splits. And, there was censorship: in the live production, Mattila apparently disrobes completely, but the camera here cuts away at the climactic moment. There were other distractions as well: six Jewish priests played as hammy caricatures, dozens of people milling about on the claustrophobic set, and costumes and scenic elements from vastly clashing time periods.

It must be said, though, that the best part of the broadcast was Salome's big final aria, when Mattila finally sits still and simply sings. Her voice here was glorious and soaring - I wanted, of course, to hear its full effect live, but it was more than fine to hear this momemnt over speakers, the camera still, without the distractions of extra stage business. The stars aligned for these 10 minutes: Mattila was passionate and brilliant. Based on this last scene, Mattila's Salome must really have been something live at the opera house. But in the cinema, there was much left to be desired.