Opera review: Five stars for this triumphant production of Salome  

Sinead Campbell Wallace's superb portrayal of Salome is just one of the top-class features of Irish National Opera's take on the Strauss opera 

Sinéad Campbell Wallace in Irish National Opera’s production of Salome at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin. Picture: Patricio Cassinoni 

Salome, Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin ★★★★★

 On the face of it, a short work by a disgraced Irish playwright might seem an odd choice for Richard Strauss to adapt in 1905. And yet, if you want to move beyond Wagner, to open a door into a more  modernist musical universe, subverting romantic conventions as you go, then presumably an opera where the song of love is addressed to a severed head would be just the ticket. (No spoiler alerts, surely, are needed for this biblical tale, mythologized by Oscar Wilde.)