Lyric Opera 2025-2026 Issue 8 - Salome

Salome Based on Oscar Wilde’s one-act play, Salome has been thrilling and fascinating audiences for more than a century. Lyric brings Sir David McVicar’s decadent production — which is set in pre-war fascist Italy and sheds a harsh light on the timeless greed and entitlement of the elite — to Chicago. This gory thrill ride returns to Lyric for the first time in 20 years starring Jennifer Holloway in the demanding title role of a teenage femme fatale whose infatuation has fatal implications, alongside Lyric favorites Brandon Jovanovich and Tanja Ariane Baumgartner. Salome drips with decadence that matches Strauss’s lyrical score and German libretto. From the infamous “Dance of the Seven Veils” to Salome’s shocking last kiss, this production will leave you breathless. Tristram Kenton / Royal Opera House