Bluebeard's castle

"Recommended: The minimal stage action and all-important sequence of behind closed-door scenarios are depicted with an ear-tingling energy of mood, movement and timbre by the orchestra. Only in their final dialogue do the two main characters briefly engage together in duet, but by then it's too late for Judit as she joins Bluebeard's three silent, but still 'living' previous wives ... Szilvia Vörös and the narrator Géza Szilvay are both to the manner born. The Finn Mika Kares as Bluebeard clearly worked with a superb language coach for the performances ... The other main contributor is the orchestra, with Susanna Mälkki coaxing playing of liquid gold to support her singers ... Susanna Mälkki's performance brings special qualities in abundance and is not to be missed".

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"Stærke operadramaer fra 1900-tallet og begge af stor kvalitet. Bela Bartóks enlige opera Blåskægs borg (her ikke hertug) er endelig kommet i filmoptagelsen fra 1981. Lydsiden har for længst opnået en Grammy-pris. Georg Solti fornægter heller ikke sin ungarske herkomst med en blodrig musikalsk tolkning, og den ungarske sangerbesætning er tydeligvis også på hjemmebane ... Miklós Szinetárs filmatisering er er et regulært psykodrama. Blåskæg (Kolos Kováts) fører sin unge brud (selveste Sylvia Sass sensuelt indlevet) ind i en mystisk labyrint fyldt af surrealistiske farvebilleder. De gør indtryk. Dvd'en bør være at låne på ethvert bibliotek".

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"Vurdering: IRR outstanding" - "It may not replace the venerable Kertész, which has a classic status, but it's certainly on that level and no one who buys it will feel in any way disappointed".

"Editor's choice: The aural imagery of the piece is extraordinary ... and it excites me to welcome a new recording which doesn't pale at the memory of the classic version that I came of age with ... Susanna Mälkki is the conductor here, and she seems to know instinctively when to unobtrusively tighten the emotional screw and when to step back and simply let us take in Bartók's flabbergasting orchestral canvas ... She and the marvellous Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra capture not just the surrealistic colour and light ... but more importantly the all-pervasive 'ache' of the score ... Her soloists ... are exceptional ... Highly recommended".

"It is a film directed by Miklós Szinetár, with the characters lip-synching to at prerecorded soundtrack. The costumes for the pair ... are nothing if not theatrical ... Sylvia Sass finds the dark tones to express both the character's resolve and horror; in fact it is her upper register that is unreliable ... Kolos Kováts, with ridiculous painted-on eyebrows, sings handsomely ... Sir Georg Solti's conducting and the playing of the London Philharmonic are mightily impressive ... You won't be bored".

"As soon as Salonen cues the score's reptilian first bars ... you can sense ... Salonen's natural grasp of Bartók's richly suggestive tone-poetry ... As I would unhesitatingly recommend this recording for the sake of Michelle DeYoung, Salonen and the Philharmonia, Sir John's post-prime Bluebeard, although rich in drama and theatrical presence, can't compare with the best".

"For the perfect introduction to Bartók's Bluebeard look no further ... Gergiev, his orchestra and his singers offer good accounts of themselves and, by extension, of Bartók too".