SALOME

Read by K. MacDonald and E. Semyonova. Duration: 3 hours, 3 minutes. An MP3 CD in English and Russian.The play "Salome" was written by the founding father of Western European decadence, Oscar Wilde, in 1892, specifically for the great French actress Sarah Bernhardt. It premiered with her in the lead role in Paris in 1896, but soon the production was banned by French censors. Wilde's play is based on the biblical myth of Salome, the stepdaughter of King Herod, an incredibly beautiful and seductive dancer. Herod himself burns with a sinful passion for Salome, and when she performs the Dance of the Seven Veils especially well, he promises to fulfill any of her wishes. At this time, John the Baptist appears in Judea, announcing the imminent arrival of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that Salome, at the instigation of her mother Herodias, who John has branded a harlot and murderer, asks the King for the prophet's head -- and she receives it on a silver platter. Wilde gives the biblical story more piquancy: Salome is much more vicious, for one. She deftly uses the passions of her stepfather and other admirers, but she herself remains stone cold. In English and Russian.