PRINCE BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE

State Philharmonic Orchestra Košice
Tomas BRAUNER, conductor
Adrienn MIKSCH, mezzo-soprano (Judith)
Károly SZEMERÉDY, baritone (Bluebeard)

Programme:

Béla Bartók: Prince Bluebeard's Castle, Op. 11. 60´

Bartók's only opera was created in 1911, and its libretto uses motifs from an ancient French legend about a cruel ruler and the mystery of his lost wives. The opera features only two singing characters: Bluebeard and his wife Judith. The large orchestral cast, one of the largest in Bartók's work, significantly supports the vocal lines and brilliantly moves from magical, gentle moments evoking the atmosphere of chamber music to powerful sound invasions. These underline the inner agony of the characters. Bartók's opera occupies a unique place in 20th-century opera. Despite its dark and static atmosphere with two main characters, it has admirable scenic power. This exceptional work focuses on the relationship between Judith and Bluebeard and the gradual revelation of his obsessions and dominance combined with a deep psychological immersion. The story adopts a psychoanalytic approach, and its narrative elements emphasize the moment when violence takes the form of suffering. Bartók's opera, however, does not portray Bluebeard as a brutal figure, but rather as a wounded and suffering man searching for absolute love. His secret remains unsolved in the darkness of the night, and Judith is forever condemned to her fate. The work is a metaphor for the impossibility of perfect love between a man and a woman, Bluebeard and his wife Judith become symbols of self-discovery of one's own depths. Despite the fact that it is Bartók's early work and the clear influence of Strauss and Debussy, it ranks among the masterpieces of world music.