BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE

Concert Version

Bartók, in his 1911 score, signs the work of art, which is, in short, an authentic study of loneliness, of lack of communication and hope when faced with reality. Reflecting the Hungarian composer's own introspection, he wrote to his mother in 1905: ‘I am a lonely man! I may have a few friends in Budapest, yet there are times when I suddenly become aware of the fact that I am absolutely alone. And I have a foreknowledge that this spiritual loneliness will be my fate. I look about me in search of the ideal companion, and yet I am fully aware that it is a vain quest. Even if I should ever succeed in finding someone, I am sure that I would soon be disappointed.’

Bluebeard, a foreshadowing of Jack the Ripper, is the grim, bloodthirsty, wife-killing ogre, and Judith, who has left home to follow this enigmatic character, will be the woman who asks uncomfortable questions. As in Lohengrin's Elsa, she is asked to trust and be blindly obedient so as not to lose her love forever.

As Judith makes her way through the dark castle, seven doors appear to which the duke holds the keys. Each one will reveal information about the personality and past of a Bluebeard who is unable to overcome old scars. A fascinating journey with incredible music that makes this score a colossal work.

Today a masterpiece, it was submitted to the jury of a composition competition for the best new lyric work of the Hungarian Fine Arts Commission, which returned the score with only one word written on the cover: ‘Ineffective’.

G Bor Bretz

Bass-baritone. A graduate of the Franz Liszt Music Academy of Budapest, he has sung at the State Opera of Hungary in work like Mefistofele and Le nozze di Figaro, as well as Leporello and the leading role in Don Giovanni, Banquo (Macbeth), Colline (La bohème) and Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia). This is his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Josep Pons

Conductor. Considered as one of the most prominent conductors of his generation, Pons conducts the world's leading orchestras with whom he has established an ongoing relationship. He has recorded some 50 titles for Harmonia Mundi France and Deutsche Grammophon and has won the highest awards, including the Grammy and Cannes Classical Awards, among others. He made his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in 1993 and has been its musical director since 2012.

FROM 25 TO 28

APR 2024