Duke's Castle Bluebeard

In 1910, the Hungarian playwright B. Balazs wrote a one-act drama-mystery in the verses “Castle of the Duke of Bluebeard”. According to the author, the play was not only an independent work, but also a ready-made opera libretto for Zoltan Koday . However, Bela Bartok, who was present at the reading of the play, was so captured by this idea that Balazs gave this text to him.

The plot of the opera is borrowed from the tale of Charles Perrault about Bluebeard .

The action takes place in the castle of the Duke of Bluebeard.

The Duke of Bluebeard introduces his beloved wife into the unfriendly, gloomy hall of his castle. Judith fled with him, leaving behind his father, mother, brothers and groom. She even could not restrain the fact that she had heard dark and terrible stories about the mysterious castle of the duke. She has a crush on him. In the gloomy hall, Judith sees seven iron doors and wants to know what is hidden behind them. She asks Bluebeard to open the door, but the duke warns her: let her not look for locks hiding secrets! But in the end, he yields to the woman's pleas and, in turn, opens the doors to her. A torture chamber is visible behind the first door in a blood-red light, an arsenal is hidden behind the second, sparkling riches are behind the third door, and a blooming garden lurks behind the fourth. Behind the fifth door, a view of the Duke's possessions opens. The gloomy hall is becoming brighter, and Bluebeard promises all its wealth, gardens, the land of Judith. He asks for only one thing: let her give up the desire to open the last two doors. But at the request of Judith, the duke opens the sixth door. A woman sees behind her a motionless lake of tears. Now she asks about the duke’s previous wives and looks at the seventh door with restless foreboding, as she realizes that the answer is hiding behind her.

Overwhelmed by anger, she says: all the rumors were true, the dumb lake froze from the tears of Bluebeard's wives who were killed by him. She requires a seventh key. Three former Bluebeard wives go out of the seventh door in jeweled robes, crowns and with radiance around their heads. He received all of his wealth from them:

They gathered all my riches, They watered my flowers, They increased my possessions, Everything, everything, everything belongs to them.

Bluebeard now speaks to Judith:

At dawn I found the first

On the scarlet, fragrant beautiful dawn.

Every dawn belongs to her:

She owns a cool red stole,

She owns a silver crown.

I found the second at noon

On a silent, hot, golden noon

Every noon now belongs to her,

She owns a heavy, fiery stole,

She owns her golden crown.

I found the third one in the evening

Peaceful, languid, dark evening.

She owns every night now

She owns a dark, sad stole,

She owns every evening now.

Every dawn, every noon and every evening belongs to them. Judith Duke Gives the Night:

I found the fourth at night

Starry, black night.

Your white face was streaming light

Brown hair drove the clouds.

Now every night will be yours

Your stellar stole will be

Your diamond crown

To you, my most valuable treasure.

The girl, trembling with fear, protests in horror: “Bluebeard, don’t ...” The Duke puts on her a gown embroidered with precious stones, lays a crown on her head with heavy ornaments of the night, silence. Judith bends beneath them and, lowering his crowned head, leaves after the other women at the seventh door.

The seventh door closes, and now darkness falls into the lock.

Night came, Judith's night, which will last forever.

• 1958 - Conductor Ferenc Fritschay , Berlin Radio Orchestra , Deutsche Grammophon , Germany

Bluebeard - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau , Judith - Hertha Töpper ; performed by the editor in German

• 1965 - conductor Istvan Curtes , London Symphony Orchestra , Decca Records , United Kingdom

Bluebeard - Walter Berry , Judith - Krista Ludwig

• 1976 - Conductor Pierre Boulez , BBC Symphony Orchestra , Sony

Bluebeard - Sigmund Nimsgern , Judith - Tatyana Troyanos

• 1981 - Conductor Janos Ferenczyk , Hungarian State Opera Orchestra , Hungaroton, Hungary

Bluebeard - Evgeny Nesterenko , Judith - Elena Obraztsova

• 1981 (video) - conductor Georg Solti , London Philharmonic Orchestra (director - Miklos Sinetar )

Bluebeard - Kolos Kovacs , Judith - Sylvia Shash

• 1993 - Conductor Pierre Boulez, Chicago Symphony Orchestra , Deutsche Grammophon, USA

Bluebeard - Laszlo Polgar , Judith - Jesse Norman , Prologue - Nicholas Simon

• Synopsis of the opera "Castle of the Duke of Bluebeard"
• The libretto of the opera "Castle of the Duke of Bluebeard"
• Chapter No. 144 of the book "Guide to operas - 2" http://www.classic-music.ru/guide.html