Union Avenue Opera To Conclude 31st Season With Strauss’ SALOME

Union Avenue Opera will close its 31st Festival Season with Richard Strauss’ explosive masterwork Salome, presented August 15, 16, 22, and 23 at 8:00 p.m. at Union Avenue Christian Church in St. Louis.

Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s controversial play and based on the biblical story of Herod, Herodias, and the titular femme fatale, the opera offers a gripping psychological portrait of obsession and revenge, set to one of the most intense scores in the repertory.

Tickets ($30–$62) are available now at unionavenueopera.org or by calling 314-361-2881. The production will be sung in German with English supertitles and runs approximately 100 minutes with no intermission. Free parking is available on-site and in surrounding areas.

St. Louis native Kelly Slawson will make her UAO debut in the title role, with Will Upham as Herod, Joanna Ehlers as Herodias, and Daniel Scofield as Jochanaan. The cast also includes Brian Skoog, Emily Geller, Fitzgerald St. Louis, Joel Rogier, Ian Smith, Zachary Devin, Thomas M. Taylor IV, David Morgans, James Stevens, Jacob Lassetter, Clark Sturdevant, Audrey Sondag, and Emma Wittenauer. The opera is directed by Mark Freiman and conducted by Artistic Director Scott Schoonover, with set design by Patrick Huber, costumes by Teresa Doggett, lighting by Zak Metalsky, and choreography by Maggie Nold.

Audiences are invited to UAO’s Friday Night Lecture Series at 7:00 p.m. on August 15 and 22. These pre-show lectures, free and open to the public, provide deeper insight into the opera’s themes and music.

Director Mark Freiman notes, “Some productions try to shock the audience with nudity or gore. I believe the real power of Salome lies in taking the characters seriously and depicting their emotional complexity. When we do that, the story becomes even more compelling.”

Union Avenue Opera will extend its 2025 programming with a bold new One-Act Festival, running October 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and October 12 at 3:00 p.m. at Union Avenue Christian Church. Featuring two contemporary chamber operas, the inaugural festival explores themes of identity and injustice in deeply personal narratives.

The evening includes dwb (driving while black) by composer Susan Kander and librettist Roberta Gumbel—a solo opera depicting the love and fear of a Black mother raising her son in a racially charged society. The program also features As One, a chamber opera for two voices and string quartet by Laura Kaminsky, Kimberly Reed, and Mark Campbell, which follows the emotional journey of a transgender protagonist navigating self-discovery.