“Salome” is the story of an overindulged, sensuous and ultimately corrupted young woman of biblical proportions.

The Metropolitan Opera’s production, a revival of the 2004 version, starring Karita Mattila in the titular role, falls quite short of the order.

On Oct. 12, “Salome” aired at the Staller Center as part of the Met’s “Live in HD” series of streamed productions into various theaters and cinemas around the country. For those of us unwilling or unable to schlep out into the city and shell out upwards of $30 or much, much more, the series is innovative and ingenious.

Unfortunately, this production of “Salome” is not. One of the great advantages of the “Live in HD” experience-as well as its downfall-is the film techniques that bring the faces of the actors into the foreground of the screen. We have, as it were, the proverbial “best seat in the house”-or do we?

Up close, it is all too easy to notice that Karita Mattila is pushing the age envelope as Salome, for she seems nearly as old as her “mother,” Herodias, performed by Idiko Komlosi. Though Mattila’s vocal performance was flawless, she is not credible as Salome.

It is painful to watch her traipsing around the stage in the parody of a young, impetuous woman. The Dance of the Seven Veils, supposedly shocking, becomes nothing more than a burlesque strip tease that is all the more embarrassing due to Mattila’s age and her lack of agility on the stage.

However, her voice soars and quivers at all the right moments, delivering a performance that is worthy of its fame. Regrettably, it seems lost in an opera that does not contain any truly breathtaking arias or heart-thumping choruses.

The cacophony of Richard Strauss’s music is no match, however, for the cacophony of the set and costumes. Both designed by Santo Loquasta, they lack any harmony or sense. The palace guards appear in someone’s notion of Middle Eastern military garb, complete with turbans, while Herodias, Salome, Herod and the other palace guests appear in contemporary formal wear.

The set itself is innovative and stunning, half of it mimicking the ridged sand dunes of the desert, the other half a ruby-colored mosaic of palace walls. In the midst of all this, however, is a platform of clear plastic or plexiglass on top of a metal frame that completely detracts from the rest of the set.

The “cistern” in which Jochanaan, or John the Baptist, is kept, appears as a crack in the ground with a crude pulley system in place overhanging it. On top of this, Salome and her mother stumble around the set with wine bottles and glasses, climb on top of the cistern and precariously balance on a piece of wood. Instead of enjoying the impeccable singing, the audience is left to worry that the performers may, at any moment, fall off the stage.

Jochanaan himself, the formidable Juha Uusitalo, is barely on stage, and when he is, his large frame becomes a joke when Salome sings “He looks so wasted.” Though their vocal abilities are up to the task, neither Mattila nor Uusitalo seem to quite fit the bill.

“Salome” itself, though a fascinating story, is a heavy-handed opera, and though it only lasts about an hour and a half, it seems to go on forever- in the bad kind of way. And while it can be refreshing to see “the same old story” given a makeover with some new dramaturgy, sometimes a little innovation can go a long way. A word of advice: stay home on this one.