“It is a story about a man-eating woman, a femme fatale”, Christian explains, “Salome's innocent, passionate, self conscious and dangerous at the same time.” Tragedy strikes and blood flows red when the King unwillingly grants Salome one dark and deadly wish. It’s a classic tale of lust, power and revenge (opera buffs love that stuff). “My focus lies not just on the story itself, which comes from Oscar Wilde and the bible, but on aesthetics” says Christian, “I did it all on my private computer, spending more nights than days arranging pixel by pixel, influenced by a lot of computer games.” Zagler’s animated short combines both Wilde’s play and Strauss’ opera, and adds some tongue-in-cheek humour to the mix with the larger-than-life performance of the glamorous opera diva-sprite who plays Salome. See how high and low art merge in Low Land and remember what they say about the fat lady singing.
