Béla Bartók Bluebeard's Castle Door 5 Solti Sass Kováts

Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle Door1
Conducted by: Sir George Solti
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Judith: Sylvia Sass
Bluebeard: Kolos Kováts
Directed by: Miklós Szinetár

Synopsis:
Judith and Bluebeard arrive at his castle, which is all dark. Bluebeard asks Judith if she wants to stay and even offers her an opportunity to leave, but she decides to stay. Judith insists that all the doors be opened, to allow light to enter into the forbidding interior, insisting further that her demands are based on her love for Bluebeard. Bluebeard refuses, saying that they are private places not to be explored by others, and asking Judith to love him but ask no questions. Judith persists, and eventually prevails over his resistance.

The first door opens to reveal a torture chamber, stained with blood. Repelled, but then intrigued, Judith pushes on. Behind the second door is a storehouse of weapons, and behind the third a storehouse of riches. Bluebeard urges her on. Behind the fourth door is a secret garden of great beauty; behind the fifth, a window onto Bluebeard's vast kingdom. All is now sunlit, but blood has stained the riches, watered the garden, and grim clouds throw blood-red shadows over Bluebeard's kingdom.

Bluebeard pleads with her to stop: the castle is as bright as it can get, and will not get any brighter, but Judith refuses to be stopped after coming this far, and opens the penultimate sixth door, as a shadow passes over the castle. This is the first room that has not been somehow stained with blood; a silent silvery lake is all that lies within, "a lake of tears". Bluebeard begs Judith to simply love him, and ask no more questions. The last door must be shut forever. But she persists, asking him about his former wives, and then accusing him of having murdered them, suggesting that their blood was the blood everywhere, that their tears were those that filled the lake, and that their bodies lie behind the last door. At this, Bluebeard hands over the last key.

Behind the door are Bluebeard's three former wives, but still alive, dressed in crowns and jewellery. They emerge silently, and Bluebeard, overcome with emotion, prostrates himself before them and praises each in turn, finally turning to Judith and beginning to praise her as his fourth wife. She is horrified, begs him to stop, but it is too late. He dresses her in the jewellery they wear, which she finds exceedingly heavy. Her head drooping under the weight, she follows the other wives along a beam of moonlight through the seventh door. It closes behind her, and Bluebeard is left alone as all fades to total darkness.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Béla
• Bartók
• Bluebeard's
• Castle
• Solti
• Sass
• Kováts
• classical

[Unbihexium]

the full power of the C major

[lexusis220d]

door 5 is one of the most cathartic moments in opera literature to me...

[gratecourt]

Imagine being given the amazing privilege and opportunity to put this masterpiece on film... and then doing an unutterably shit job of it like Miklós Szinetár.

[jazael48]

I propose the denomination of "Gotic music" for this opera. Another examples are: Lulu (Berg) and "The fiery angel" (Prokofiev). Of course, that denomination is not related to rock.

[Unbihexium]

@phase00x1 Right, but in this punctilious way it sound much less bombastic, you see. ;-)

[phase00x1]

@Unbihexium Not C-Major. The Pitch Class is "C-major-ish." All the chords center around C, but stating C-major implies the parallel chords would be diatonic, which they aren't. They're all major. Chromatic mediants.

[calaf0911]

Wonderful music,wonderful opera.Thrilling and full of emotion.Basic for life.

[jasonrico]

Ah, Bluebeard's Castle. You take 30 minutes to resolve but when you finally do, you gleam and brighten. Thanks, Bartok.

[AfroPoli]

Solti is a cretin. He chops the music into pieces. The most overrated conductor after Toscanini.

This production of Bluebeard is nice otherwise. Especially Kováts. 

[henrifrombarcelona]

@lexusis220d i completly agree

[charmofthehuns]

jgess: LOL These facts are based on years of dating followed by a very happy marriage. The next time you listen to this superb work, pour yourself a good bourbon or single malt or wine and try to convince yourself that my statements are not true. Women are women to the core of their cellular structure. Their "rationale" is congenital. Once this is understood by all men, it will be the dawn of a new age; the heavens will open; God will be on His throne smiling; and you will have wisdom. LOL

[jgesselberty]

@charmofthehuns I'm guessing you don't date much.  LOL

Enjoy the music.