The palace of Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Judea

It is night. In the banqueting hall, Herod and his second wife Herodias entertain guests from Rome, Egypt and Jerusalem. Outside, Narraboth, the captain of the King’s Guard, gazes longingly at Salome, Herod’s stepdaughter. Herodias’s Page, himself obsessed with Narraboth, tries to distract him, fearing that his infatuation can only bring misfortune. 

From the depths of an old cistern where he has been imprisoned, the voice of Jokanaan (John the Baptist) is heard by the soldiers who guard him. To them, his prophesies are incomprehensible and they warn a curious Cappadocian servant that it is forbidden for anyone to see him. Salome suddenly appears. She has fled the banquet, longing to bask in the pure rays of the moonshine. Jokanaan’s voice echoes from the cistern, cursing her mother. Salome is intrigued and demands to see him, refusing Herod’s order to return to the table. The soldiers resist but Salome uses her power over the besotted Narraboth and he orders the prophet to be brought out before her.

Jokanaan is dragged out of his prison and rails against the marriage of Herod and Herodias, an incestuous match made possible by the murder of Herod’s brother Philip, Herodias’s former husband. Salome is appalled but fascinated. Despite the frantic pleas of Narraboth, she conceives a passion for the prophet that quickly turns to an obsession. In turn, she longs to touch his body, run her fingers through his hair and finally, to kiss his mouth. The distraught Narraboth stabs himself in the heart. Salome does not even notice, so intense is her desire to kiss the prophet. Jokanaan repulses her in disgust and commands her to seek the forgiveness of the Son of Man. Uncomprehending, Salome tries again to kiss Jokanaan and he curses her. The soldiers throw him back into the cistern. 

Herod arrives in pursuit of Salome, wife and guests in tow. He slips up in Narraboth’s blood; an ill omen that drives the paranoid Tetrarch to distraction. He denies Herodias’s demands to return to the banqueting hall and orders the servants to bring food and wine. He tries to persuade Salome to join him, even offering her a place beside him, on her own mother’s throne, but she refuses.

Jokanaan is heard again, railing against Herodias who furiously asks why Herod will not turn him over to the Temple Authorities in Jerusalem. The superstitious Herod prefers to keep him in captivity; he has heard rumours that this man may be the prophet Elias, returned to Earth. The Jews from Jerusalem are appalled by this suggestion and a noisy theological debate erupts between them, interrupted by Jokanaan’s voice proclaiming the coming of the ‘Saviour’. Two guests from Nazareth interpret this to Herod. The Messiah, they say – to the amused disbelief of Herodias – has come and is already working miracles in the land, turning water to wine and raising the dead.

Herod stops his ears. He asks Salome to dance for him. Again she declines, but he is determined and promises her whatever she desires as a reward. Salome makes him swear before the assembled guests, and despite the angry protestations of her mother, he agrees. She dances before Herod. 

An enraptured Herod asks her to name her price. She demands to be given, on a silver dish, the head of Jokanaan. Horrified, Herod refuses, but Salome, to the delight of her mother, is adamant. In mounting panic, Herod offers Salome jewels and power, half of his kingdom, even the Veil of the Sanctuary of the Temple of Jerusalem itself. She denies him. Herod finally agrees and the Executioner, Naaman, is given the death-ring by Herodias herself. He descends into Jokanaan’s prison while Salome, frantic with impatience, listens. Hearing something fall to the ground below, she fears the Executioner’s nerve has failed him and cries for help from the terrified Page and the soldiers. But she is wrong; the bloody head of Jokanaan is duly brought to her. Seizing it, she triumphantly sings to it. Jokanaan can no longer deny her the kiss she sought.

As Herod climbs the stairs to his palace, Salome’s longing is fulfilled. Herod pauses on the stairs and commands her death.