With Bluebeard’s Castle, Bartók broke with tradition and concentrated the drama into a single act lasting barely an hour. In this powerful and unsettling score, each door Judith opens reveals new worlds of sound, sometimes lush harmonies, sometimes disquieting dissonances. At Opera Zuid, Kenza Koutchoukali and Yannick Verweij dramatise the unease that hangs over the work and transform the castle into a modern flat, confronting us with both the couple’s desire for intimacy and the unbridgeable emotional distance that separates them. Baritone Thomas Oliemans makes his debut in the role of the Duke, oscillating between intensity and vulnerability. Alongside him, mezzo-soprano Deirdre Angenent, who has already proved herself in the role of Judith, portrays a self-confident woman who, right up to the end, firmly believes in the power of her love. On stage alongside the soloists, the Philzuid Orchestra conducted by Duncan Ward acts as a third character, shedding light on what words cannot express. More than ever, the work asks us questions – what dark parts of our minds do we keep closed to our friends, our loves… to ourselves?
This opera is brought to Slippedisc readers courtesy of OperaVision.
The Plot: Judith arrives at the castle of Bluebeard, his fourth wife. Despite her husband’s reluctance, she insists on letting light into every room. One by one, Judith opens the doors and discovers behind each the dark secrets of the man she loves…
Streamed on Friday 9th May 2025 at 1900 CET / 1800 London / 1300 New York
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