Bela Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle, Op. 11

1. Duke Bluebeard's Castle (A kékszakkallú Herceg Vára), opera in one act, Sz. 48, BB 62 (Op. 11)
   Composed by Bela Bartok
   Performed by Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
   with John Tomlinson, Anne Sofie von Otter
   Conducted by Bernard Haitink
   
   

Bela Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle, Op. 11,Bela Bartok,Bernard Haitink,Berliner Philharmoniker,Anne Sofie von Otter,John Tomlinson,Angel Records,Classical,Classical Composers,Hungarian 20th/21st Century Opera,Opera,Opera / Operetta / Oratorio

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Average customer rating: Dorati's MLP Bartok is Back

Bartok: Orchestral Works; Bluebeard's Castle Manufacturer: Philips ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ballets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Berg | Berg, Alban | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Concertos | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music Ballets & Dances | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Keyboard | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Percussion | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music Violin | Strings | Instruments | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra | ( M ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Antal Dorati Conducts Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 1-6 Howard Hanson Conducts American Masterworks Paul Paray Conducts French Orchestral Music Rafael Kubelik conducts Dvorák, Smetana, Mussorgsky, Bartók, Hindemith, Schoenberg ASIN: B00035VV78 Release Date: 2004-11-09

Customer Reviews:

Dorati's MLP Bartok is Back.......2005-06-08

Those familiar with my reviews on Amazon know of my great love for the Mercury Living Presence series. Equally great is my disgust that so many of these brilliant recordings have been deleted in the last few years! Thankfully, some of these legendary performances are resurfacing as SACD hybrids. However, they are unfortunately now being sold at full-price, despite a competing Living Stereo hybrid series on RCA/BMG being available at midline. In spite of the added expense, I hope this MLP reissue trend will continue, and maybe we'll even see a few items receiving their CD debut in this series.

These Bartok performances by the great Antal Dorati are nothing short of definitive, and have always been among my favorite MLP offerings. While three of these recordings continue to be available in their original CD incarnations -- the Violin Concerto with Menuhin, Miraculous Mandarin and Wooden Prince discs -- the remaining two discs of material have been out-of-print for some time. However, with this box set Dorati's classic Concerto for Orchestra, and Bluebeard's Castle albums are deservedly restored to the catalog. Even better is the fact that the 5CD box sets being reissued have been reasonably priced, however they are not SACD Hybrids. This set and three others (see my reviews) have a total cost cheaper than the original single issue CDs! Once again, Mercury Living Presence lives!

Average customer rating: One of the GREATEST Recordings Ever Made. Hauntingly Beautiful Brilliantly sung "Bluebeard's Castle" OPENING DOORS Spell-Binding!

Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle / Kertész, Ludwig, Berry Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Beethoven: Fidelio Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No1, Op107; Violin Concerto No1 (revised), Op99 Pytor Il'ich Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince / Cantata Profana - John Aler / John Tomlinson / Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez ASIN: B00001IVQX Release Date: 1999-09-14

Tracks:

1. Duke Bluebeard's Castle BB 62 (Op.11): Opening
2. DOORS: Door 1
3. DOORS: Door 2
4. DOORS: Door 3
5. DOORS: Door 4
6. DOORS: Door 5
7. DOORS: Door 6
8. DOORS: Door 7

Amazon.com

Bartók's lone opera has fared well on disc, and the Kertész is one of the best, even if it lacks the full bite and snap of singers emoting in their native language. Ludwig, a mezzo Judith, is convincing as a loving bride wishing to share her husband's innermost secrets, and Berry is a patient Bluebeard, saddened by her inevitable consignment to oblivion behind the seventh door. They capture the private, intimate horrors at the core of the story. Kertész conducts brilliantly, drawing full, warm sounds from the LSO aided by Decca's spectacular demonstration-quality engineering. Doráti (on Mercury, also with great sound but with native singers) may get closer to the spirit of Bartók's sharp-edged score, but Kertész is in the same league. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

One of the GREATEST Recordings Ever Made........2007-07-09

Decca Records....The very name seems to bring warm thoughts and feelings to one's body and mind...

What a "richer" place the world is, because of Decca, RCA, EMI (and of course, also, Philips, Deutsche Grammophone, and Columbia Records). These companies pioneered sound (and recordings) for us, and through their efforts, we have, currently, little silver discs (formerly, of course, Shiny Black LP's), that document and preserve both their technical achievements and those of the artists/participants of these recordings.

So, "Thank You Very Much" of course deserves to go to these companies for making our lives so much richer.

The Review...

One of these Pioneering Achievements, make no doubt about it, is this Magnificent recording of Bela Bartok's lone opera, Duke Bluebeard's Castle (A kékszakkallú Herceg Vára). The sonic achievement of this recording, for clearness, spaciousness, and simply breadth and range will amaze you if you are not famaliar already with it. This recording will probably forever stand as one of the greatest achievements in sound ever done, as it has from it's release right up until today. There is one KnockOut rival*, but it DOES NOT replace it! (see below)

If you are unfamiliar with this work, you are in for a REAL TREAT. If you do not understand it, that's ok, wait a couple days, and play it again! (I'm sure you know how this works, if you have experience with Classical Music and Opera).

Christa Ludwig, let's face it, was simply one of the towering dramatic sopranos of the 20th century, bar none. Her then husband, at the time of this recording, Walter Berry, was a baritone who also certainly held his own on the stages throughout Europe for many many years, and those in America, also, though to a lesser degree.

This opera is a very psychologically powerful work, as is Richard Strauss' "Elektra"........both of them grip one and take you to places that, while you are uncomfortable with it, you willingly allow yourself to be taken there. Both of these operas seem to have a "magnetism" that you cannot shake loose until the final bar/resolve of the work.

Istvan Kertesz, unfortunately, did not live long enough to become "golden" in the eyes of the public like Bohm, Maazel, or Levine, etc., so few know of him today. He was simply one of the most gifted conductors of his time, as was Michael Tilson Thomas. This man immediately takes control over his forces, and Bartok's "blue-black" score, and brings it up to the point that you are mesmerized or locked into it and are not willing to pull yourself out of it. This is powerful music.

Ludwig, of all the people to tackle this role, has NEVER been overshadowed by Anyone Else's performance or rendition of Judith. The shining sense of innocence of the world comes with her into the dark, damp and hopelessly depressing castle. As the doors open, she traverses the "darknesses" that they each hold, and becomes a "world wise" and weary woman as the last door closes into total blackness. Crista Ludwig makes you believe this is a real girl taking this journey, and you believe her progression as she makes the trip to the end, hanging on to her every breath. Few can do this type of role where you have the stage "to yourself" for the duration of an opera and you don't "flag" at any point.

The same can be said for Walter Berry's Duke Bluebeard. His baritone is just captivating. His voice, rich and dark, just draws you in, willingly. You hang onto his every word, and like Judith, you "have to know more".

At the end of this hour's passing, you find that you are astounded that you have been so deeply engrossed or enveloped by this story. So many times I have sat afterwards and wondered "What would a three act version of this opera have been like?"

I realize I have, again, rambled on. Sometimes, when you're wound up in something, it's not possible to express what you want to convey in short clipped sentences. This is a "felt"(as much as any other aspect of it) work.

Trust my judgement from listening to many recordings of this special work over the years (since the 60's) this recording needs to be on your shelves FIRST before any other recording of it. ~operabruin

*That said, I will now make a comment on the rival recording. The EMI release with Anne Sophie von Otter, John Tomlinson, and Bernard Haitink also belongs on your shelves, if you can justify owning two versions of this great great work. (I have 7 recordings of it, and consider all 7 of them viable in one form or another). (see my review of this recording on Amazon here, for more information.) It does not "knock out" the Kertesz recording just reviewed, but it "BELONGS BESIDE IT."

Hauntingly Beautiful.......2007-01-25

I normally don't seek out an experience that is dark and disturbing. Now, this is a dark opera, to be sure, but I am astonished at what a beautiful and powerful opera it is. The music is perfect - the chords, the way the melody supports the vocal lines, the mood that is so perfectly established. This is essentially a psychological tale, in fact the prologue asks us to ponder if this is a story of within (psychological) or without. It is the story of a man who begs his wife not to dig too deep, but she can't help it, she continues to push, until... it is too late. The singing is fantastic. The orchestra playing is lush, the sound quality first rate. Now that I have heard this piece I think the biggest tragedy is that Bartok didn't write more operas. He shows tremendous compositional skill and a great sense of how to unfold the drama that I feel sometimes composers miss. Get your hands on this CD.

Brilliantly sung "Bluebeard's Castle".......2006-04-14

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Source: Studio recording made in Kingsway Hall, London, November 1965.

Sound: State of the art analogue stereo that received high praise when it was issued in 1966. The second digital remastering, done in 1999, has been very successful. More acute ears than mine have noted the sound of the occasional tape join and some slight hiss. I do not go searching for such things and I certainly have not heard them on my copy.

Text: The work is performed in Hungarian as "A Kekszkallu herceg vara." [Sorry about the forms of the vowels, but Amazon has not been accepting my properly spelled foreign words recently.] The 28-line spoken verse prologue has not been recorded.

Documentation: Libretto in Hungarian joined with the standard, very loose, English singing translation by Christopher Hassall. Brief memoir on the origin of this recording. Short record of a conversation between Kertesz and Ludwig in which the conductor provides his interpretation of some aspects of the story. Track list shows timings.

Format: One disk - eight tracks; 59:30.

Cast: Bluebeard - Walter Berry; Judith - Christa Ludwig. Conductor: Istvan Kertesz with the London Symphony Orchestra.

In 1911, the thirty year-old Bartok began setting the libretto of "A Kekszkallu herceg vara" ["Duke Bluebeard's Castle"] by his friend, Bela Balasz. It was not performed until 1918. Because it is performed in opera houses and involves two people singing over an orchestra, the piece is casually lumped into the category of opera. To me, though, an opera is a sung drama or comedy--and "Duke Bluebeard's Castle" most assuredly is neither. It is at most a ritual, or perhaps no more than a mere reverie.

Just as Beethoven did a century earlier with "Fidelio," Bartok came to opera as a man of the concert platform, not of the theater. He provided little or no real drama for his singers; their characters have neither choice nor conflict. All the drama, all the color of the work, and Bartok crammed in a great deal of both, are to be found in his orchestra. The orchestra embarks on a impressive tonal voyage, but the singers merely utter their symbolic words on pitch.

And the symbolism? Well, let's face it, even for 1918 the symbols were absurdly simple-minded. Their simplicity, however, does not make them unambiguous. Here is how Kertesz is quoted: This "Bluebeard story is quite different from the fairy tale. The point is that all the blood is his blood. It means his suffering. Everything happens in the imagination". Being clearly on Bluebeard's side, he goes on to say that Judith is "horrible to him. She does not want him; she just wants to open his doors." Ludwig, naturally, is quoted as holding quite a different view.

Christa Ludwig and her then husband, Walter Berry were operatic aristocracy. They sing brilliantly here, particularly in light of the thin stuff provided by Bartok. That is not a matter of debate. Do they sing authentically? I haven't the slightest idea. The good, grey Gramophone Magazine says they lack the "texture and tang of native Hungarian singers". That may be so, although I can only wonder if a London-based English reviewer is any better judge than I am on the point.

The orchestra sounds terrific. Kertesz's approach is a little more subtle and inner-directed than is to be found in other recordings I have heard which are given more to the boom and bang approach.

On the whole, this is an excellent and classic recording. I can't vouch for its authenticity but I can assure you that it will give any sympathetic listener a full hour of pleasure.

Five stars.

(For those who find this work particularly appealing, I suggest that it might be worth your while to look into Korngold's much-underrated Twentieth Century masterpiece, "Die Tote Stadt," which traverses some of the same territory.)

OPENING DOORS.......2004-11-11

For 1965 the sound-quality on this disc is quite extraordinarily good - it would be that in 2004 - and Decca have every right to be proud of it. Everyone concerned has a right to be proud of the performance too. Ludwig and Berry are not only in superb voice, they seem to me to have penetrated to the heart of this dark and wonderful allegory. In the discussion that forms part of the liner-note Ludwig interrupts at one point to disagree with a certain view of Judith that she hears being expressed. No harm in that - this particular story is full of mystery. Only so much certainty is possible, and the ambiguity is essential to its power and magic.

For any music-lover struggling with Bartok - say with the quartets or the first piano concerto - this, or maybe the better-known violin concerto, would be the doors through which I would suggest approaching him. Purely at the musical level the idiom is modern without being forbidding or particularly challenging. Indeed the orchestration in Bluebeard is among the most thrilling I have ever heard, and Kertesz and the LSO (then at its very peak) do it proud. This is a short drama - a story like this can only be stretched out for a finite length - and the dark and sinister sense of fear and foreboding must never relax in performance, nor do they in this performance. The story is a powerfully convincing one to me, and I do not know how many of my own sex I can speak for, although I suspect it's most of us. In my view, which is a totally impressionistic and unscientific one as far as this is concerned, a man has a mental and emotional hinterland that nobody should try to trespass on. `Nobody' means not wife, not parent, not child, not the closest friend. It is irrespective of the most intense love that may be involved, and it can come up against an equally deep-seated female urge to know the man in her life as deeply as she can. It will not, in many cases, involve anything particularly dark, dramatic or seeming to demand secrecy, but I sense rightly or wrongly that it is a basic part of the male psyche. What this whole story dramatises with intense effect is the self-destructive power of the clash between these basic male and female tendencies. Bluebeard and Judith are not individuals in my view but types, and nowhere could provide a more atmospheric background for this modern morality-play than the seemingly `transylvanian' castle where Bluebeard and Judith open the doors that should perhaps not have been opened.

It all lasts not quite an hour, and far from leaving me emotionally drained as I might have expected it left me even exhilarated by the sheer truthfulness of it, to say nothing of the quite wonderful music and the quite wonderful way it is enacted. The English version of the libretto struck me as slightly odd with its stilted idiom, thou's thine's and similar nonsense until I saw who it was by - Christopher Hassall, the man who killed Walton's Troilus and Cressida at birth or before. I suppose he was responsible for the English version of the stage-directions too, as I took leave of the drama with the wives of Bluebeard progressing along a beam of `moonshine'. As well as the main liner-note, Decca have understandably and very helpfully included a technical leaflet on the recording technology which, as I have said, is something they are very entitled to preen themselves on. I only wondered why with so much top technology at their disposal they could not have got the leaflet to fit the box a bit more exactly.

Spell-Binding!.......2003-09-16

I am not a Bartok fan. I generally do not listen to Bartok. Neither have I listened to any other Bluebeard - this is the only one I have. The only reason I bought this set is that I heard it was good and since I managed to get a dirt cheap price for the set, why not try and listen. I was pleasantly surprised. Once I started listening, I was spell-bound!! The music is good. But even more importantly, the singing is superb!! It's unbelievable how good Christa ludwig and Walter Berry are. In fact, even if the music did not sound nice (which is not the case), just listening to Christa Ludwig and Walter Berry vocalizing would be worth the purchase. The two of them have such gorgeous voices that I could just sit there and listen to them all day long. Furthermore, both singers sing with a lot of dramatic sense and make this experience a really thrilling one. I've had experiences where I listen to a favorite piece by a mediocre performer, and I simply get bored even though the music is nice because the performers spoils the piece. Similarly, there are pieces which I am not too enthusiastic about, but some performers imbue them with so much beauty, power and life that I become fanatic about these pieces. This recording is one of those that fall into the latter category. It goes to show that the performers matter a lot!! And this is a fantastic performance which I highly recommend to all. It is worthy of being in the Decca Legends series. To borrow the quote on the cover (which is completely accurate in this case), "Astonishingly evocative and full of atmosphere ... Must count as one of Decca's great operatic recordings .. This is a thrilling recording of a great work. Gramophone." Don't just believe it, experience it yourself!!

Average customer rating: An overrated conductor and wobbly Slavic singers A most powerful and authentic performance

Bártok: Bluebeard's Castle Manufacturer: Philips ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Berg | Berg, Alban | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Felix Mendelssohn: Symphonies No. 3 & 4/Fingal's Cave Overture Antal Dorati Conducts Kodály & Bartók Chadwick: Symphonic Sketches; MacDowell: Suite for orchestra Op42/1-5 Bizet: Carmen Suite; Arlésienne Suites Nos. 1 & 2; Thomas: Mignon & Raymond Overtures Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 / Midsummer Night's Dream ASIN: B0000057LX Release Date: 1992-10-13

Tracks:

1. Bluebeard's Castle: Opening
2. Bluebeard's Castle: Door 1
3. Bluebeard's Castle: Door 2
4. Bluebeard's Castle: Door 3
5. Bluebeard's Castle: Door 4
6. Bluebeard's Castle: Door 5
7. Bluebeard's Castle: Door 6
8. Bluebeard's Castle: Door 7
9. Wozzeck, Three Excerpts: Act I, Scenes 2 And 3 - Helga Pilarczyk
10. Wozzeck, Three Excerpts: Act III, Scene 1 - Helga Pilarczyk
11. Wozzeck, Three Excerpts: Act III, Scenes 4 And 5 - Helga Pilarczyk

Customer Reviews:

An overrated conductor and wobbly Slavic singers.......2006-05-18

The reviewer below has gone overboard. Dorati's conducting here is, if anything, a bit stodgy, and his two Hungarian singers sound wobbly and artistically provincial. The whole enterprise sounds good on paper, given Dorati's credentials, but he made a career of lowering expectations. The sonics have the high-treble sting familiar from Wilma Fine's engineering for Mercury. All in all, I would rank this set well below those from Kertesz, Haitink, and Fricsay, to mention three of the best.

A most powerful and authentic performance.......2002-05-23

This is the most powerfully conducted Bluebeard among the several versions that I have heard, one of unequalled dramatic thrust and intensity. Dorati, who, as a young man in Budapest, was a pupil of Bartok, brings out the Hungarian folksong based rhythms and colors of this music instead of, as other interpreters tend to do, soften or smooth them out (perhaps in order to create a more overtly dream like atmosphere), which robs the music of its considerable dramatic force. The singers, though lacking the vocal beauty of those in some other recordings, are both native Hungarians, and moreover, the Bluebeard in this recording was tutored in the role by Bartok himself. Arguably then, the singing here, along with the conducting, possesses the most stylistic authority of all the versions currently available.
Finally, the recorded sound is crystal clear and dynamic, thus enhancing the qualities of Dorati's performance.
If you are a lover of Bartok, this is an essential purchase.

Average customer rating: The Quintessential Bluebeard's Castle Excellent recording of a forgotten gem "It Was a Dark and Rainy Night............." A riveting live performance--the best Bluebeard in forty years A dark and brooding masterpiece

Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle Manufacturer: Angel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Opera & Vocal | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Britten - Billy Budd / Keenlyside · Langridge · John Tomlinson · LSO · Hickox Schoenberg: Erwartung; Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex Dusapin - Faustus, The Last Night Berg - Wozzeck Szymanowski: Harnasie; Orchestral Songs ASIN: B000002RWP Release Date: 1996-10-22

Tracks:

1. Bluebeard's Castle, Op.11: Opera in Act.l Libretto: Bela Balazs. Prologue and Opening
2. Bluebeard's Castle, Op.11: Opera in Act.l Libretto: Bela Balazs. First Door-The Torture Chamber
3. Bluebeard's Castle, Op.11: Opera in Act.l Libretto: Bela Balazs. Second Door-The Armoury
4. Bluebeard's Castle, Op.11: Opera in Act.l Libretto: Bela Balazs. Third Door-The Treasury
5. Bluebeard's Castle, Op.11: Opera in Act.l Libretto: Bela Balazs. Fourth Door-The Secret Garden
6. Bluebeard's Castle, Op.11: Opera in Act.l Libretto: Bela Balazs. Fifth Door-Bluebeard's Kingdom
7. Bluebeard's Castle, Op.11: Opera in Act.l Libretto: Bela Balazs. Sixth Door-Tears
8. Bluebeard's Castle, Op.11: Opera in Act.l Libretto: Bela Balazs. Seventh Door-Bluebeard's Former...

Customer Reviews:

The Quintessential Bluebeard's Castle.......2007-05-20

There is a magic in Bela Bartók's one act opera 'A kékszakkallú Herceg Vára' (Duke Bluebeard's Castle) that is difficult to describe. The work is for very large orchestra, mezzo soprano and bass and while it contains about as much drama as any Wagnerian opera, Bartok succeeded in intensifying this brief opus in one act and in doing so he created a masterpiece of what opera is all about - the marriage of music and drama, neither of which could equally stand alone. Concert versions are as thrilling as staged versions: it is the orchestra that paints the scenery and creates the atmosphere for this chilling story.

Bluebeard enters his castle with his newest bride, Judith. The castle is dark and dank, and when Judith spies a series of doors, her curiosity results in her pleading with Bluebeard to open each door despite Bluebeard's warning that she may not want to know what lies behind each portal. Judith begs him and one by one Bluebeard opens each door: the orchestra describes what is new to Judith's eyes - the torture chamber, the armory, the treasury, the secret garden, Bluebeard's kingdom, the door to the lake of tears, and the final door opens through which pass the spirits of the previously murdered wives of Bluebeard. Judith's curiosity has determined her own destiny.

There are several very fine recordings of this work, but no matter the previous favorite of any listener new to this 1996 recording of a live performance with Bernard Haitink conducting the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with Anne Sofie von Otter as Judith and John Tomlinson as Bluebeard, this recording seems to be the zenith. Haitink brings out all of the Technicolor nuances of the openings of each door while keeping the brooding atmosphere of the castle's interior a stable platform for the magnificent, completely committed performances by von Otter and Tomlinson. The result is breathtaking, a bravura performance in which the kudos are equally shared among the singers the orchestra and the conductor. It is a masterpiece of creation, of performance, and of recording art. Grady Harp, May 07

Excellent recording of a forgotten gem.......2007-03-29

Bluebeard's Castle is not exactly one of Bartok's better known works, and it is even rarer to see it performed in person. I had the honor of seeing it just recently, and was so entranced by the dark tale that I had to get the recording too. This is an excellent performance of the one act opera. The opera is short, and very compact, and it has one of the tightest, most intense scores of any opera I know. The story is very dark, definitely not for the faint of heart, and is most reminiscent of the gothic tales of Edgar Allen Poe. I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Bartok, as it represents some of his most sophisticated and rich music. It is more melodic, I think, than some of his later stuff, though not as accessible as Concerto for Orchestra. Still, this version does it justice, and I really enjoy listening to it!

"It Was a Dark and Rainy Night.............".......2006-07-10

I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself!....ahem, on to the review.

This recording is quite simply one of the most spectacular opera recordings of the last decade. Ms von Otter's Judith is, like nearly everything she has done, exquisite--superlative, finely nuanced, and immensely moving.. John Tomlinson's Bluebeard is damned fine, indeed, ranking with the best. And the Berlin Philharmonic.........well, they're the Berlin Philharmonic! Polished, refined, working and magnificently playing together with real bite, and also with the silveryest sheen on the strings imaginable. The honorable Mr. Haitink, as is his tradition, draws from them a magnificently interpreted and played rendition of this complex and wonderful score, and the technicians have captured all this in absolutely breathtaking sound for a live performance. All around, this recording gets top rating in all categories. It belongs in any opera lover's collection. I love this recording........and yet, I still go back to the old Ludwig/Berry/Kertesz recording on Decca from the 60's and I am not really sure why. Perhaps because I "grew up" with this recording or something.......somehow it seems "right". Truth to tell, they both should be in one's collection--one for historic performance's sake, and one for being a monumental performance by today's artists in modern sound. Enjoy them both, they're each excellent and truly worthy of your shelf-space. ~operabruin

A riveting live performance--the best Bluebeard in forty years.......2006-05-18

For the past four decades no one has surpassed Kertesz's classic Bluebeard's Castle on Decca, a miracle of perfect casting, great conducting, and demonstration-quality sound that thrills time after time. What Haitink gives us in this live concert from 1996 is the next best thing: a committed, very musical performance, rather on the gloomy side, that makes its mark through the virtuosity of the Berlin Phill, Haitink's insights, and above all the impassioned Judith of von Otter, surely the best singer in the role since Christa Ludwig. For anyone who loves this early masterpiece of Bartok's, here is an unmissable recording.

A dark and brooding masterpiece.......2004-01-14

Full disclosure: this is one of my favorite operas. My first exposure was the early recording with Boulez and Troyanos (still available), and I've heard a number of others, but this one must now take first place. One strength is that the spoken prologue is included by Sandor Eles, speaking in the original Hungarian. As he reaches the end of his introduction, delivered in delicately creepy Boris Karloff style, the opening music quietly begins, setting an ominous tone for everything that is to follow.

Anne Sofie von Otter is magnificent as Judith. (Some may find her voice too light for the part, although I didn't.) The combination of innocence and increasing desperation is pretty terrifying, thanks to her vocal and dramatic skills. John Tomlinson makes a marvelous Bluebeard, singing to Judith with an almost reassuring warmth. Some may prefer a "rougher" Bluebeard, but I enjoyed the effect of his voice masking his real intentions -- until the shocking conclusion.

Haitink's characteristic understatement works extremely well here, as he encourages the Berlin Philharmonic to ever more sinister heights. This is very much an opera that requires a brilliant orchestra in addition to its two stars, and here the Berlin ensemble just sounds terrific. One of the work's highlights is especially well done, when Judith opens the fifth door that reveals "all of Bluebeard's kingdom." The blaze of orchestral playing here is just spine-tingling.

The sound quality is excellent -- recorded live -- and fittingly caps a project that does a grand job communicating Bartok's dark intentions.

Average customer rating: "Stones of Sorrow" Eh Great singers have walked this path before you Brilliant Bluebeard The Ingredients are here but........

Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle - Jessye Norman / László Polgár / Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Pierre Boulez Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Norman, Jessye | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Béla Bartók: The Wooden Prince / Cantata Profana - John Aler / John Tomlinson / Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez Béla Bartók: The Miraculous Mandarin / Music for Strings, Percussion & Celesta - Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus / Pierre Boulez Béla Bartók: Divertimento / Dance Suite / Hungarian Sketches / Two Pictures - Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Pierre Boulez Béla Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra / 4 Orchestral Pieces - Chicago Symphony Orchestra / Pierre Boulez Stravinsky: Petrouchka; Le Sacre de printemps ASIN: B000009CMO Release Date: 1998-07-14

Tracks:

1. Bluebeard's Castle: Prologue: 'The Tale Is Old'
2. Bluebeard's Castle: Judith: 'Is This Really Bluebeard's Castle?'
3. Bluebeard's Castle: Judith: 'Ah, I See Seven Great Shut Doorways'
4. Bluebeard's Castle: First Door - Judith: 'Woe!'
5. Bluebeard's Castle: Second Door - Bluebeard: 'What Seest Thou?'
6. Bluebeard's Castle: Third Door - Judith: 'Mountains Of Gold!'
7. Bluebeard's Castle: Fourth Door - Judith: 'Ah! Lovely Flowers!'
8. Bluebeard's Castle: Fifth Door - Bluebeard: 'Look, My Castle Gleams And Brightens'
9. Bluebeard's Castle: Sixth Door - Judith: 'I Can See A Sheet Of Water'
10. Bluebeard's Castle: Bluebeard: The Last Of My Doors Must Stay Shut'
11. Bluebeard's Castle: Judith: 'Now I Know It All Bluebeard'
12. Bluebeard's Castle: Bluebeard: 'Hearts That I Have Loved And Cherished'

Amazon.com essential recording

But for one thing, this has the makings of a classic. Pierre Boulez's recent Bartok recordings with the Chicago orchestra have been standard-setting. And Jessye Norman couldn't be better equipped, vocally and dramatically, to sing Judith. She doesn't disappoint: Her grand temperament suits her character's aggressively curious nature while her increasingly dark lower range is put to good use in conveying the awe and horror of what she finds while probing her husband's past. Polgar is also alert to the dramatic turns of Bluebeard. However, Boulez seems a bit less involved--less coloristically attuned to the score than in past Bartok recordings. But this CD is still of great interest. --David Patrick Stearns

Customer Reviews:

"Stones of Sorrow".......2006-10-01

The best way to explain this great work is to listen to it as Bartok's orchestral music interprets the theme behind each door. Judith asks, "Why no windows? No sweet daylight?" None of these questions needs to be answered because the music answers everything. Bluebeard's reference to Judith's father and warnings about proceeding further are close parallels to Jean Cocteau's Beast in his poetic film La Belle et la Bete. There must be a relationship between the two magical works. Appropriately Philip Glass converted Cocteau's film into an opera in the 1990s. As for the doors, Bluebeard warns, "None must see what is behind them"; but we will hear what is behind them in the most remarkable orchestral music imaginable. This opera is one of those uncanny works that seems never to have been performed or heard before the next time you listen to it. Like Poe's House of Usher, the castle seems sentient. Judith says, "I heard your castle sighing" and "Look, the walls are bleeding." Bluebeard agrees: "Stones of sorrow thrill with rapture." Much of the ambience of Bartok's opera depends on the Hungarian language as rendered by Jessye Norman and Laszlo Polgar.

Eh.......2006-09-04

You can do better than this recording.

The ups: The orchestra sounds better in this recording than any other recording out there. Laszló sounds wonderful (though he's better in a different recording).

The downs: Pacing is satisfactory. The orchestra moves sluggishly due to Bou-Bou's self-indulgence (sometimes I like it, but other times it's just stupid). Jessye's singing sounds lethargic, flabby, and overweight..but why am I not surprised about that? Also, her Hungarian diction is just about on par with that of Florence Foster Jenkins. :D

Great singers have walked this path before you.......2005-09-29

Boulez conducts a cool reading without a trace of Hungarian passion or gothic melodrama, both of which are prominent in any really fine performance. His soloists are vocally suited to their parts, but Norman applies her usual generic grand aloofness and plush vocalism to a role that calls for vulnerability and awe changing to horror, while Polgar simply isn't a major artist in any way.

Bluebeard's Castle has attracted magnificent interpretations over the years, and the fact that great singers like Fischer-Dieskau, Walter Berry, Christa Ludwig, Samuel Ramey, and Anne Sophie von Otter have given their all makes this version, despite its good qualities, pretty unnecessary.

Brilliant Bluebeard.......2003-11-12

The Boulez recording of Bluebeard's Castle could well just have become my favourite opera recording! Boulez extracts wonderfull playing from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Bartok's score is terrifically intense. Laszlo Polgar's rich dark voice is a revelation in the title role, however, for me it is Jessye Norman's magesterial performance as Judith which makes the set. The role of Judith makes great use of the glorious, velvety lower range of Norman's voice, yet she is still able to rise to the challenge of the high c of amazement at the fifth door! Fabulous.

The Ingredients are here but...............2002-05-31

All of the elements needed to recreate Bela Bartok's only opera "Bluebeard's Castle" are on this recording - the magician Pierre Boulez, the mighty Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the lustrous Jessye Norman, and the authentic Hungarian Bass Laszlo Polgar. Boulez does draw out superlative playing from the CSO, Norman spins her silvery mezzo effortlessly, and Polgar treats us to the perfectly enunciated Hungarian text. But something remains very cool in this sinister tale of the depths of the human psyche and the dark side of love. Individually all performers are superb, but it is the passion of ensemble that is missing. True, we may hear more detail in Bartok's lushly romantic score, but Norman especially leaves us uninvolved in her bland exploration of the mystery of Judith and her Bluebeard.
A good alternative version, but not the definitive one.

Average customer rating:

Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle Manufacturer: Polygram Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Symphony Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000E2XD Release Date: 1990-10-25

Average customer rating: Very nice!

Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle [Hybrid SACD] Manufacturer: Philips ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: Rubinstein Plays Saint-Saëns, Franck & Liszt [Hybrid SACD] Richard Strauss: Symphonia Domestica [Hybrid SACD] Berlioz: Harold in Italy; Overtures [Hybrid SACD] Piano Concertos by Beethoven & Schumann [Hybrid SACD] Mahler: The Song of the Earth [Hybrid SACD] ASIN: B0000AKNJJ Release Date: 2004-01-13

Customer Reviews:

Very nice!.......2006-09-04

I like this recording. The orchestra sounds great (love the keyboard xylophone) and Laszló's singing is superb. But Ildikó's vibrato is really irritating. It kind of sounds like she's being strangled - which I guess you could say is a nice touch, but I'd prefer the singing to be more fresh and a little more dramatic from the female rôle.

Average customer rating: Great Conducting, Problematic Text & Singers Unique and valuable but a non-starter

Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle/Cantata Profana Bela Bartok , Ferenc Fricsay , and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Martha Topper Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Cantatas | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Cantatas | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music ASIN: B000031WYH Release Date: 2001-02-13

Tracks:

1. Wir sind am Ziele
2. Dies ist also Blaubarts Feste
3. Grobe schweigende Turen
4. Weh! - Was siehst Du?
5. Was siehst Du?
6. Sieh nur den Schatz!
7. Ach! Blumenpracht!
8. Ah! - Sieh so weit die Blicke reichen
9. Weibes stilles Wasser seh ich
10. Schau die fruher'n Frauen alle
11. Fruh am Morgen kam die erste
12. Cantana profana: Wunder hort ihr sagen - Radio-Symphonie-Orchester-Berlin
13. Cantana profana: Lange harrt der Alte - Radio-Symphonie-Orchester-Berlin
14. Cantana profana: Wunder ward euch kund heut' - Radio-Symphonie-Orchester-Berlin

Customer Reviews:

Great Conducting, Problematic Text & Singers.......2005-06-01

Ferenc Fricsay (pronounced, I am told, fair-entz free-shoy) was a superb Bartok conductor. I have long harbored a slight preference for his mono DG recordings of Concerto For Orchestra and the Music For Strings, Percussion & Celesta over the more celebrated stereo RCA accounts by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony (of course, I keep both!). So I was REALLY looking forward to hearing Fricsay's way with Bartok's operatic masterpiece "Bluebeard's Castle" and the composer's most significant choral work "Cantata Profana." And in terms of conducting, there is little here to disappoint: these are wonderfully impassioned, extremely detailed accounts in good 1957 stereo sound (Bluebeard) and decent 1951 mono (Cantata).

So, where are the problems? For me, this Bluebeard is just a little disappointing because: 1) there are some unfortunate cuts in the score and the spoken prologue is omitted, 2) it's sung in German instead of Hungarian, and 3) the vocal casting is less than ideal. Let me try to explain, point by point.

Bluebeard's Castle, in my view, ranks with Debussy's Pelleas et Melisande as one of the two great modern opera masterpieces of the early 20th Century. And, curiously, I feel that both actually work more satisfactorily through listening at home than in the opera house (I have seen both works staged, and somehow they fell short of what I imagined in my own mind). While Bluebeard owes a debt to Wagner, the Richard Strauss of "Elektra," and the vocal declamation of Mussorgsky, it is nevertheless a very original and unique work. Bartok's own idiom, based on a parlando-rubato tradition in Hungarian folk music, is filled with a fateful, almost ballad-like allegory about individual loneliness and the dark consequences of peering too insistently into another person's soul. Bartok's music, while impassioned, is also saturated with ambiguity and ambivalence. So interpreting it effectively is a pretty tricky business.

For me, it works best when the ENTIRE score is used (there's not a single wasted note in Bartok's music). That includes the bard's spoken prologue, which provides listeners with valuable information on just what Bartok and his librettist Bela Balasz are going to portray. Example: "Once upon a time ... the phrase is old, and yet it gives my rhyme the tempting of a half-open door ... Enter! A realm waits you that without you cannot come into being; the realm of myth! Still thinking of your lives? There find them with New meanings, for our story is about you, Ladies and Gentleman."

The rhythms and inflections of Bartok's opera are so inextricably entwined with the Hungarian language that I find it EXTREMELY odd that a Hungarian conductor like Fricsay preferred to perform it in a German translation. And that peculiarity is only magnified by the Bluebeard of baritone Fischer-Dieskau and the Judith of mezzo-soprano Hertha Topper. F-D is, of course, a great singer, and he's in fine voice here. But his diction is SO Germanic (with all those rolled r's and spitting sibilants), and frankly he shouts and bellows more than he sings. It's an extremely exaggerated reading of a character that needs subtlety and ambiguity to be sympathetic. Hertha Topper is quite engrossing, despite a slight wobble. But Fricsay's command of the score is absolute: hundreds of tiny details leap out and grab your attention (e.g., the little harp quivers in the Lake of Tears), and the orchestral playing is magnificent. However, due to the shortcomings noted, I think this performance is more of a supplement than a core selection.

The first-ever studio Bluebeard, recorded in 1953 for the Bartok LP label, was given absolutely complete and in Hungarian. Although in mono, the engineering (by the composer's son Peter Bartok) is one of the glories of the LP era (terrific sound that's better than almost ANYTHING from Mercury or RCA). The fine, subtly under-played Bluebeard of bass Endre Koreh and the attractive Judith of soprano Judith Hellwig are major assets (the speaking role of the Bard in the prologue is given by Erno Lorsy). Another real plus is the great leadership of Austro-Czech conducter Walter Susskind with a first-class pickup orchestra called the New Symphony of London. Susskind's pacing is just about perfect, and he's every bit as detailed as Fricsay. Susskind's Bluebeard (I've owned it on LP for over 30 years) remains my recommendation for the best studio recording, and it's now available on CD for $17 directly from Bartok Records on the internet.

But there is one other recording that, in some respects, bests all the others. It's a "live" 1951 performance with the Budapest Radio Orchestra, led by Hungarian conductor Georges Sebastian (1903-1989) and formerly available on an Arlecchino CD (see my review). It has the great basso profundo Mihaly Szekely as Bluebeard (Bartok's favorite in the role), for whom Bartok actually transposed down the tessitura and slightly re-orchestrated the work in a revised edition (this performance was its European premiere). Szekely's Bluebeard is simply magnificent: straightforwardly noble, gorgeously sung, and tragically sympathetic. The Judith is mezzo Klara Palanky, long regarded in Hungary as the last century's greatest exponent of the role. She is plaintive, sensitive, and in fine voice (though she ducks the High C "Ah!" at the opening of the 5th Door). Sebastian leads a performance in good mono sound that is painted in broader strokes than Fricsay's but which is no less impressive in its cumulative force (like Fricsay and most other conductors, Sebastian omits the spoken prologue). If you can find it, this is a Bluebeard that any Bartok lover will enjoy hearing.

Strangely, I'm not as bothered by the Cantata Profana being in mono and also sung in German. The orchestral power of Fricsay's reading is simply overwhelming, and Helmut Krebs is the best tenor I have ever heard in this role.

For Fricsay's inspired conducting in Bluebeard and the outstanding account of the Cantata, this CD is recommended. But there is more to this opera than we are given here, and Bartok's operatic masterpiece is heard more fully in the versions conducted by Susskind & Sebastian. There are other good recordings (e.g., Dorati & Kertesz), but these are the three I prefer to hear.

Jeff Lipscomb

Unique and valuable but a non-starter.......2001-12-31

Attention fellow listeners: these notable performances are all sung in German, not Hungarian as Bartók originally intended. Although the late and exceptionally talented maestro Fricsay was himself Hungarian and Bartók's music champion, those two works didn't enjoy any popularity outside his home country at the time he recorded them. Therefore, he was obviously trying to do his best in order to reach a larger audience in Germany back in the 50's and 60's.

The original LP, which contained only the opera, received continental Europe's most prestigious classical music prize and set new standards for subsequent recordings of this masterpiece. It is very well performed and recorded, with the closing pages achingly beautiful and poetic in Dieskau's voice, an also distinctive if less inspired Judith in Topper's voice, plus an extremely idiomatic orchestra under Fricsay. The recording's atmosphere, depth and body were well preserved in this immaculate remastering -- and rightly so. Needless to say, much the same goes for the splendid Cantata, if technically less impressive as a recording.

Now, to be fair, listening to Bartók's music in German is like listening to Wagner in Italian or Verdi in French: it really doesn't work. The Cantata suffers even more than the opera with this Teutonic treatment, the words not fitting the melodic lines, the diction alien to the music. Anyway, if you are a Dieskau fan, you just can't miss it, his wonderful voice was at its golden apex at the time.

Incidentally, I bought this CD from the German Amazon virtual store long ago when it wasn't available anywhere else, and still love it dearly. If you are new to this repertoire, though, try the famous Kertesz's Bluebeard first, with Walter Berry and his real-life wife Christa Ludwig in the leading roles, or Sir Georg Solti's magnificent set with Sylvia Sass and Kolos Kováts among other (in my opinion, less compelling and inspired) performances still available right here at Amazon.

Average customer rating:

Bluebeards Castle op. 11: Opera in One Act Manufacturer: Hanssler Classics ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Mozart: Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) Haydn: Piano Sonatas ASIN: B0000A0V3J Release Date: 2003-05-01

Album Description

Question: Which two works came to fruition in 1911 (one written, the other premiered), were among.their respective composer's most personal compositions, involve landscape tone- a man and woman singing of love and loss and end with the single repeated word 'ewig...ewig'? OK, I'm bending the rules a little by quoting the German translation of one of the works but, still, it was a useful exercise listening to Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle in quick succession. The parallels certainly stand and rarely more so than on this thoughtfully moulded performance under Peter Eötvös, for my money one of today's leading Bartók interpreters.

This is very much a 'theatre of the mind' kind of performance… Cornelia Kallisch… more than compensates with a credible humanness and growing sense of horror, Listen to her gut-wrenching cry as Bluebeard, masterfully portrayed here by Peter Fried, opens the door to his torture chamber (Ludwig sounds quite inhibited by comparison), or to the elation she conveys when the fifth door reveals Bluebeard's 'spacious kingdom'; Suddenly, the concept 'opera' vanishes and you're standing alongside her,.awe-struck and intimidated.

Most operas rely on the musical properties of language but Bluebeard is built on them: another aspect of this performance worth singling out is the way Eötvös' phrasing is always attentive to the speech-like inflections of Bartók 's writing. He delves among the orchestra's inner voices - the middle and lower strings come off especially well- and saves his biggest gestures for the score's grandest moments, the Fifth Door and Judith's eventual incarceration being the most obvious testing points.

…Some readers will remain faithful to Kertesz (a classic of its kind) or to Hairink,whose EMI Bluebeard is singularly moving, and yet the perception and idiomatic accent of this performance are enough to place it in the front rank…

Average customer rating: Great soprano, wretched sound Boycotted?

Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle Manufacturer: Opera D'oro ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Bartók, Béla | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Hungarian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music 4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music 4-for-3 Opera & Vocal | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Puccini: Turandot Wagner: The Ring ASIN: B0007NFLYA Release Date: 2005-03-22

Tracks:

1. Here Our Journey Ends
2. Is This Truly Bluebeard's Castle
3. Seven Huge Doors I See
4. (The First Door) Woe!... What Do You See?
5. (The Second Door) What Do You See?
6. (The Third Door) Oh, Riches Beyond Compare
7. (The Fourth Door) Oh! Marvellous
8. (The Fifth Door) Ah!... Now Behold My Vast Domain
9. (The Sixth Door) I See Still Grey Waters
10. Tell Me, Dearest Bluebeard
11. (The Seventh Door) Now Behold The Other Women
12. I Found The First At Dawn

Customer Reviews:

Great soprano, wretched sound.......2005-11-29

Source: Live broadcast from February 10, 1953.

Sound: Since an original taping by the broadcaster could reasonably be expected to display better sound, I assume that this version of "Bluebeard's Castle" was snatched off the air by some individual with low-end recording equipment, even by the standards of 1953. The sound on the CD is boxy, constricted and far removed from the orchestra.

Cast: Duke Bluebeard - Bernhard Sönnerstedt; Judith - Birgit Nilsson. Conductor - Ferenc Fricsay with the Sveriges Radiokorkester.

I must admit that I was drawn to this recording by the previous Amazon reviewer. Frankly, I wondered how any recording that featured the great Birgit Nilsson could possibly deserve a one-star rating.

This version of Bartók's Hungarian language, 1918 original is in German, that is, "Herzog Blaubarts Burg," and presumably in the translation provided by the wife of the composer. Because it involves people singing a continuous text over an orchestra and is often staged, "Bluebeard's Castle" is casually lumped into the category of opera. To me, however, an opera is a sung drama or comedy--and that, "Bluebeard's Castle" most assuredly is not. It is a ritual, perhaps even a revery. It has no drama insofar as the singers are concerned; their characters have neither choice nor conflict. All the drama, all the color, all the power is reserved for the orchestra. The singers merely recite their symbolic words on pitch, for there really are no actions. As for the symbolism, well, let's face it, even for 1918 the symbols were absurdly simple-minded.

Nilsson sounds fine. She is clearly holding herself back, squeezing her enormous persona into the tiny space that is Judith. But a Valkyrie is a Valkyrie and Nilsson inevitably gives the impression that if Bluebeard got fresh, she would haul him up by the scruff of his neck and casually heave him off the wall of his castle. Sönnerstedt seems to have been a journeyman baritone of sufficient merit to sing under the baton of the mighty Furtwängler. As Bluebeard, he is adequate, but not especially memorable.

From this recording, it is difficult to be sure, but the dimly recorded Swedish Radio Orchestra seems to have been a fairly respectable band.

If Nilsson had only had something worthwhile to sing, I'd have given this CD three stars for her simple presence. However, as the real weight of the piece is in the orchestra and as this recording does great disservice to the orchestra, I can only assign two stars.

Too bad.

Boycotted?.......2005-03-23

The orchestral sound for this recording is so blurred and atrocious, I cannot understand what the "producers" were thinking. Does Opera d'Oro 'cheapens' it on purpose? How can the original source be so bad? And if so, why release it, then? Not for more than a buck, sorry. Because yes; Nilsson is interesting to hear and Fricasy was a great one, but the orchestral colors of this beautiful score need decent sound; and this is in-decent.

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