Publisher Description
Salomé is a dark
tale of hubris, lust, and self-destruction … as told by a man who famously fell
prey to those same impulses in his own life. Oscar Wilde wrote his original
interpretation of the biblical story of Salomé in French, and the play was so
controversial that no theater in England would produce it for nearly four
decades.
This audiobook version includes a conversation with director
Michael Hackett and Wilde scholar David Rodes, and is an L.A. Theatre Works
full-cast production starring: Rosalind Ayres as Herodias, James Marsters as
Iokanaan, Andre Sogliuzzo as The Young Syrian and others, Kate Steele as Salomé,
John Vickery as Herod, Matthew Wolf as Page of Herodias and others. Music is by
Djivan Gasparyan and Lian Ensemble, and it is directed by Michael Hackett and recorded
by L.A. Theatre Works before a live audience.
Download and start listening now!
"Very poetic and I can see why they made an operatic version of it, though I would have to see it staged (or stage it myself) to see what was so upsetting to its contemporary critics. Aubrey Beardsley's illustrations are super cool, but I love the Art Nouveau and the other art movements of the time."
—
Daniel (4 out of 5 stars)
About Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was born in Dublin. He won scholarships to both Trinity College, Dublin, and Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1875, he began publishing poetry in literary magazines, and in 1878, he won the coveted Newdigate Prize for English poetry. He had a reputation as a flamboyant wit and man-about-town. After his marriage to Constance Lloyd in 1884, he tried to establish himself as a writer, but with little initial success. However, his three volumes of short fiction, The Happy Prince, Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime, and A House of Pomegranates, together with his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, gradually won him a reputation as a modern writer with an original talent. That reputation was confirmed and enhanced by the phenomenal success of his society comedies: Lady Windermere’s Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, all performed on London’s West End stage between 1892 and 1895. In 1895, he was convicted of engaging in homosexual acts, which were then illegal, and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. He soon declared bankruptcy, and his property was auctioned off. In 1896, he lost legal custody of his children. When his mother died that same year, his wife Constance visited him at the jail to bring him the news. It was the last time they saw each other. In the years after his release, his health deteriorated. In November 1900, he died in Paris at the age of forty-six.
About a full cast
R. F. Daley is an actor, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator. His television credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm, Bones, Dexter, The Office, Arrested Development, Boston Public, and Spin City, among many others. He has narrated numerous audiobooks by L. Ron Hubbard and was the voice of the military adviser in the video game Civilization V.