The content advisory page for Seattle Opera’s production of Salome is a bit harrowing, even for a genre prone to dramatic portrayals of death. Awarding the classic opera a movie-style rating of PG-13, the warnings include “blood and gore” … “themes of suicide, incest, pedophilia, nymphomania, necrophilia” … “nightmarish intensity” and, rather famously, “a severed head.” This is one seriously haunted house.
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Richard Strauss’s 1905 opera, based on Oscar Wilde’s 1892 play (which was inspired by the biblical gospels of Mark and Matthew), has been controversial from the get-go. After the Dresden premiere caused a kerfuffle — see above re: severed head, as well as the scandalously sensual “Dance of the Seven Veils” — it was banned in Vienna. And when the Metropolitan Opera in New York City dared to produce Salome in 1907, the show was forced to close after one performance.
Despite, and perhaps because of, its taboo reputation, the opera eventually became a smash. And now you have one more chance to see Seattle Opera’s Salome, fittingly on Halloween (Oct. 31).
This new production features a visually striking set (rented from the Irish National Opera’s 2024 staging, by Bruno Ravella), which at times traps the horrifically dysfunctional family in a stark chamber resembling a submarine. The Seattle Symphony is on hand to play Strauss’s propulsive score, backing soprano Brenda Rae as Salome. Tickets are still available and costumes are encouraged. Might I suggest a vest of seven veils?
If you’re looking to bring an eerie edge to your arts intake this season, your trick-or-treat bag overfloweth.
At The Royal Room, catch the classic silent horror flick The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) accompanied by a live score composed by Seattle impresario Wayne Horvitz. One of the most influential German expressionist films of all time, Caligari boasts stunning set design and a genuinely haunting story. I saw it with Horvitz’s live soundtrack when it debuted at the Paramount Theatre in 2015, and I can attest it's a superbly spine-chilling combination (Oct. 31 at 5 p.m.; get there closer to 4 p.m. to secure a good seat).
For another take on seasonally appropriate music, Seattle’s Orquesta Northwest is performing a concert of Mexican music and mariachis in celebration of Dia de Muertos (Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. at St. James Cathedral; free ticket with reservation). And tonight, The Stranger presents a music-filled conversation called See You at the Crossroads: Death & Hip Hop (Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Black & Tan Hall). Hear journalist Charles Mudede speak with Northwest hip-hop expert Dr. Daudi Abe about the relationship between music and death, particularly as expressed in this genre. With impeccable DJ accompaniment by Vitamin D.
In theater performances, choices range from Nanay (through Nov. 14 at Theatre Off Jackson), a contemporary tale based in Filipino demon mythology, to The Bootlegger’s Ball (through Oct. 31 at Reverie Ballroom, aka the old Century Ballroom in the Oddfellows Building), which combines Seattle’s Prohibition-era true-crime history with a fully staged cabaret of singing and dancing. For the latter, consider donning a flapper costume, as guests are invited to dance in between acts.
Also on stage: Carnevolar XIV: Ascension, a new aerial and acrobatic show from Emerald City Trapeze (Oct. 28-31; 21+). The storyline here involves a solo hiker who encounters curious creatures in the Northwest woods, but the real thrills come from the dizzying physical feats. Across town, Alana O. Rogers Dance Company presents Fractured, a contemporary dance piece about the dreadful and isolating effect of our phones (Oct. 30 - Nov. 7). It’s part of the Sensorium series of performances at Base Camp Studios.
Meanwhile, the legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem brings Firebird to town as part of a mixed bill at The Paramount (Oct. 30-31). DTH’s version of Stravinsky’s 1910 ballet was choreographed in 1982 by John Taras, who picked up the Russian folktale about love thwarting evil — along with that momentous score — and set it all down in a Caribbean locale. For more bewitching ballet, mark your calendar for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Ghost Stories, a mixed bill of moody dances (Nov. 6-15).
Wanna see something really scary? As part of the “Revive I-5” project, WSDOT is closing all lanes of Northbound I-5 from I-90 to Northeast 45th Street this weekend. The good news is that this marks the end of the bridge repair annoyances. And as a bonus, this terrifying total closure inspired a dance performance by the construction crew. Yes, I approve of my tax dollars going to a Thriller reprise.
Indeed, as “darkness falls across the land” (farewell, Daylight Savings), “the midnight hour is close at hand,” so here are a couple more chances to encounter the uncanny: Roq La Rue Gallery is celebrating the third annual Fantasmagoria (through Oct. 31), a group exhibit that harks back to Victorian “spook shows.” See ominous swans, fresh vampire bites and a home taken over by seemingly sentient fungi. And coming soon at Gallery 110, Northwest artist Sarah Barnett shares Spectacle of Being (Nov. 5-28), a show of paintings that captures the real gore of medical operating theaters as well as the surreal surrender of “going under.”
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Passages
Dearly beloved actor and Washington film booster Tom Skerritt passed away last week. He was 93. Tributes have been rolling in, praising his talent in roles from a captain in Alien to a commander in Top Gun to a reverend in A River Runs Through It. He made Seattle his home for the past several decades and it was always a little thrilling to spot him around town, at the Madison Park Starbucks or Elliott Bay Books — a real movie star walking among us!
I personally loved watching Skerritt in two locally set films. In Cameron Crowe’s Singles (1992), he utters just a few sentences but his dismissive and smiling mayoral moment is unforgettable (“My answer is… no”). In S.J. Chiro’s East of the Mountains (2021), he stars as a widow determined to end his own life. Filmed when he was 88, his gravitas here comes partly from the beautiful topography of his face, the crevices and creases of a long and expressive life. RIP.
All eight new episodes of Art by Northwest Season 3 are now out in the world! Have you seen each and every one? If not, catch up on Art by Northwest, nominated for two Northwest Regional Emmy Awards.
