Naked Opera

Nakedness is always a polemic issue, especially when it's performed in 'unusual' and reserved circumstances, such as an opera.

According to a newspaper, the opera Salome, composed by the Austrian musician Richard Strauss, was selected by the opera company in Rome to begin its season. The particularity of this performance was not only that it was entirely sang in German, or even that at times the soprano's voice (Francesca Patanè) was louder than the whole orchestra's sound. No, the particularity was that, during a certain part of the performance (that lasted about 10 minutes), Patanè appeared completely naked.

But this wasn't the only occasion that a similar thing happened throughout the opera. Another actress, Maruska Albertazzi, also performed totally naked at the beginning of the spectacle.

When I first read this information, I thought "Well, yes, it's normal that people don't accept so easily a nude performance in an opera". But my biggest surprise was to find out that the attendants actually were very pleased with Patanè's performance. What they didn't like was the orchestra's music, and some specific movements performed by Patanè which appeared to be 'vulgar' to the eyes of many.

It looks that moral values are changing, and opera too.