Salome

Above Sigmundstor, the tunnel that cuts through Salzburg's mighty Mönchsberg next to the Festspielhaus, is the Latin inscription Te saxa loquuntur: the stones speak of you. Also hewn into the Mönchsberg rock a stone's throw south is the Felsenreitschule – literally Rock Riding School – the former cavalry stables, now festival theatre. In Romeo Castellucci's production of Strauss' Salome there, Te saxa loquuntur is emblazoned across the frontcloth. Before the curtain rises, Salome takes a sword and slices through this inscription. What secrets would these stones impart?