Bluebeard's Castle by Bartók, Tue 27 Dec 2022, From (2022/2023), Directed by Dieter Kaegi, Conductor Yannis Pouspourikas, Francis Benichou, Stadttheater, Biel, Switzerland

Judith follows Bluebeard into his dark castle. Believing that she will illuminate them with her love, she gets him to gradually unlock all the hidden rooms for her and discovers the torture chamber, the armory, the magic garden, the treasury and the land. The castle is now light, but there is blood behind every door. In vain Bluebeard warns Judith about the last two doors. So she finds the Lake of Tears and behind the last door Bluebeard's former wives, frozen in eternal beauty. Judith also becomes one of them, the doors close again and Bluebeard remains alone in his dark castle. "Bluebeard's Castle", Béla Bartók's only opera, is rich in profound symbolism. First performed in Budapest in 1918, the "Mystery in One Act" is considered the most intense and at the same time most disillusioning relationship drama in the entire operatic literature. The composer Eberhard Kloke has created a new, reduced orchestral version. After the successful production by Dieter Kaegi in the set by Francis O'Connor had to be canceled after a few performances due to the pandemic, it is now returning to the TOBS stage. Yannis Pouspourikas is the musical director.