Salomé (Mariotte)

Salomé is an opera in one act by Antoine Mariotte to a libretto based on the French play Salome by Oscar Wilde. However, that work was itself inspired by Flaubert's Herodias. Mariotte began to compose his opera before the far more famous treatment of the same source by German composer Richard Strauss (Salome), but his premiered after the Strauss work.

While in the French navy in the Far East, Mariotte had read the Oscar Wilde play Salome, and decided to set it to music. During his return to Europe by sea, he had access to a piano to continue his work, and while on leave, he took a course at the Conservatoire by Charles-Marie Widor, then resigned from the navy in 1897, and entered the Schola Cantorum where he was taught by Vincent d'Indy. After being appointed professor of piano at the Conservatoire in Lyon, he completed the score of his Salomé, believing himself to have permission from Wilde's estate and the publisher Methuen.

In fact, having obtained the agreement to use the play, Richard Strauss had in turn asked his publisher Fürstner to acquire the rights. Wilde's particularly complicated estate led to a court case that favoured the rights of Fürstner. Mariotte learnt that Fürstner would oppose the production of a "Salomé française" and after going to Berlin, he obtained permission to have his piece staged, on condition that 40% royalties went to Richard Strauss and 10% to Fürstner, with all scores to be sent after the run to Fürstner to be destroyed. Romain Rolland, having read an article by Mariotte in the Revue internationale de musique, helped him to obtain a more generous settlement from Strauss.

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Wikipedia