Sunday, November 6, 2016

Day 174-Salome, Pittsburgh Opera-regretful lust



When I ask most of my friends to go to the opera I often get a polite, “no thank you. ”   I would like to point out that  opera is all about the overall experience and this blog is about the overall experience of trying new things  especially in the midst of a life change (see Day 143).   I say go for the hyped up  experience of the opera with the symphony, singing, dancing, extravagant sets, costumes, and drama.

 You really don’t have to follow every detail of the story to understand what the show is trying to convey.  Pittsburgh Opera's   Salome,  is all about uncontrolled lust and desire fueling one to behave in an unusual or in a bizarre manner.  We all have performed  regretful acts birthed from something that we think that we need or must have!



 Salome is a good opera to absorb “the experience.” It’s  shorter than most. It lasted  only 1.4 hours and  had no intermission which helped heighten the show's  intensity. It takes place in King Herod’s Palace in 30AD.  Herod  lusts after his step daughter, Salome. Salome lusts after the prophet of God, Jochanaan, who is imprisoned in the place for calling out the sin of Salome’s mother.  Oh, and one of the guards lust after Salome.  

Salome is fascinated with the prophet’s body  and face. She pleads with him to touch her and to embrace  her with a kiss. As a man of God, he stays strong and his rejection  ignites  Salome's desire to possess him.  After a seductive  dance and  some brief nudity,  the king is worked into a frenzy and   promises her any request. She asks for the prophet’s head on a silver platter. You get the picture- lust has resulted in some bad stuff going down in the palace. 

Salome obsessed with Jochanaan head
We might not ask for someone’s head on a silver platter but there is a little “Salome” in all us. It might come out in some type of regretful behavior when we try to obtain something that is off limits.  
 
Dress up and go
The opera can make you “feel”  when enjoying the overall experience. So I say, dress up and try it. Salome runs the 8th, 11th , and 13th.   (See Pittsburgh Opera)  

Spiritual Reflection 
For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world...but if you do the will of God you will live forever (1 John 2: 16-17).
  
Other Sources