ABSTRACT
The following essay poses a series of questions about the social context of an opera libretto, a composer's intention in selecting a theme, and the cultural significance of setting a text to music. Its object will be orre of the most popular operas of the fin de siecle, Richard Strauss's Salome, first performed at the Dresden Opera on 9 December 1905. My contention is that composers take into consideration much more than aesthetic appropriateness when selecting an operatic subject. They are aware of the cultura! implications of that choice, and of the force that cultural presuppositions have in shaping the audience and drawing it· in to the work orperhaps even more importarrt-inta the theater.
