Opera
Opera Double Bill
Herzog Blaubarts Burg |
Die sieben Todsünden
Bluebeard's Castle | The Seven Deadly Sins
A Kékszakállú Herceg Vára
Béla Bartók (1881 – 1945)
Sung in Hungarian, with German surtitles
Opera in one act
Libretto by Béla Balázs
First performance: 1918 in Budapest
***
Kurt Weill (1900 – 1950)
Sung in German, with surtitles
Satirical ballet chanté in seven scenes
Libretto by Bertolt Brecht
First performance: 1933 in Paris
In deutscher Sprache. Mit Übertiteln.
Trailer: Ullrich Bohn THEATER-TV
Trailer: Ullrich Bohn THEATER-TV
Vesselina Kasarova, Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Vesselina Kasarova, Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Vesselina Kasarova, Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Vesselina Kasarova, Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Vesselina Kasarova, Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Johannes Martin Kränzle, Vesselina Kasarova
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Vesselina Kasarova, Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Vesselina Kasarova
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Johannes Martin Kränzle, Vesselina Kasarova
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Vesselina Kasarova, Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Johannes Martin Kränzle, Vesselina Kasarova
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Johannes Martin Kränzle, Vesselina Kasarova
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Vesselina Kasarova, Johannes Martin Kränzle
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
Photo: Karl und Monika Forster
In "Bluebeard's Castle", one is immediately captivated by the symbolically-charged fairytale material and Bartók's mighty impressionistic music. Combined with Judith's relentless questions, Bluebeard's puzzling and mysterious nature inexorably drives the couple to a bitter end. Behind each of the castle's seven doors awaits a new sound world, each new one surpassing the previous with expressive, glittering and - finally - cripplingly sad music.
Paradise and hell: are these still opposites today? Have the seven deadly sins not become normal modern codes of conduct? For seven years, Anna travels through seven cities. She must withstand seven sins: laziness, pride, anger, gluttony, lust, greed and envy. She must earn money and shun her own feelings and wishes, so that her family - musically represented by a male quartet (inclusive of Mother!) - can afford a little house. Reuniting once more after "Mahagonny", Brecht and Weill's 1993 Paris piece characterises and parodies the mechanisms of profit maximization - complete with chorale, waltz, blues, foxtrot and shimmy.