Opera By Request’s Salome Dazzles With Vocal And Dramatic Talent

At the centre of the story, naturally, is Salome, played with a vixenish charm by soprano Antonina Ermolenko. Clad in a scarlet gown, she is naturally the centre of attention while on stage, and marries her stage presence with impressive vocal chops that could range from a seductive whisper when she tries to tempt Jokaanen to kiss her, to a strident rage when he does not.

Salome is a beautiful monster in the opera, fickle and impulsive, and someone whose desires and impulses have clearly never been put into question or held in check. Ermolenko embodies her whole emotional range. She’s relentless in her attempted seduction, then at turns gleeful and seemingly driven half-mad by the result of her own request for Jokaanen’s head.