More BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE

In the course of researching (read: obsessing over) Bartók’s one-act opera Bluebeard’s Castle, I came across a Hungarian film adaptation of the piece on YouTube. It’s annoyingly divided into fourteen segments, but anyone familiar with the piece or interested should take a look. Here’s the segment containing my favorite part, known to...

Read More

Berkeley BLUEBEARD

I’d like to alert Bay Area readers to the upcoming performances by Berkeley Opera of my two favorite one-acts, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. These two composers are not particularly known for their dramatic works, but each work reveals the composer’s complete mastery of music for the...

Read More

So, Like, What's With the Seven Doors?

BLUEBEARD Well, we’re here. This is my castle. JUDIT This is your castle? Kinda creepy. BLUEBEARD Yeah. You sure you want to come in here? JUDIT Yeah. BLUEBEARD Well, okay then. JUDIT So, like, what’s with the seven doors? BLUEBEARD You don't want to know. JUDIT Open them up. BLUEBEARD Um, I don't think...

Read More