About the work
One-act opera by French composer Antoine Mariotte after Oscar Wilde's 1891 drama "Salomé", composed even before Richard Strauss's opera of the same title (premiered 1905) but not staged until 30 October 1908, at the Grand-Théâtre de Lyon. Because Strauss's publisher Adolph Fürstner had already secured the stage rights to Wilde's text, Mariotte's version could only be produced in exchange for a share of royalties paid to Strauss and Fürstner.
Plot
As in Wilde, the Judean princess Salome desires the imprisoned prophet Jochanaan; when he rejects her, she demands his severed head from her stepfather Herod and finally kisses it on the mouth before being killed herself.
Cultural significance
The rights dispute turned Mariotte's opera into a closely watched precedent for international copyright in music theatre. Musically it remained overshadowed by Strauss's setting, though it is occasionally revived as an independent, impressionist-tinged alternative.