Wilde

by Tydeman, William; Price, Steven

• ISBN13: 9780521565455
• ISBN10: 0521565456
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-11-01
• Publisher: Cambridge Univ Pr

Summary

This is the first book-length study of Oscar Wilde’s Salome, a play now regarded as central to his artistic achievement. Often drawing on little-known sources, the authors provide a detailed stage-history of this controversial work, and its transformation into opera, dance and film. Beginning with Sarah Bernhardt’s aborted production of 1892, the book surveys Salome’s principal realisations in the European theatre, including Lugné-Poe’s Parisian première of 1896, Reinhardt’s Berlin productions of 1902–3, attempts at presentation in pre-revolutionary Russia, and the play’s impact on the English stage between 1911 and 1990. A separate chapter explores a wealth of further interpretations, including Aubrey Beardsley’s challenging illustrations, Strauss’s operatic version and the provocative films created by Alla Nazimova and Ken Russell.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Beginnings

2. Early stage productions in Europe

3. Salome on the English stage, 1911-1990

4. Transformations

Conclusion.