Music / opera

Bluebeard's castle


Description


Originaltitel: A Kékszakállú herceg vára.

Reviews (20)


Classics today

2011

By

By

David Hurwitz

2011

"Iván Fischer certainly knows how to conduct this music. He leads his Budapest Festival Orchestra in a very striking performance full of atmosphere and color. Bluebeard's armory has the necessary rhythmic menace, and his treasury truly glitters".


Classics today

2008

By

By

Robert Levine (musikanmelder)

2008

"Revisiting it on DVD I can say that much of it is still quite beautiful, but it is far more visually naïve than I remembered ... This is currently the only available Bluebeard on video ... the music is well served. The sound (LPCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround), as mentioned above, is excellent and the picture is good enough but not quite up to today's standards ... You won't be bored".


MusicWeb international

2021 June

By

By

Ian Julier

2021 June

"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".


Politiken

d. 17. June 2008

By

By

Thomas Michelsen

d. 17. June 2008

"Den farvestærke, ungarsk-britiske dirigent Georg Solti mestrer partituret og gør det flydende, og orkestret er virkelig velspillende på en lydside lavet to år inden filmen. Men netop billedsiden fra 1981 virker temmelig corny og sådan halvfjerdseragtigt Barbarella-inspireret. Ikke rigtig kurant i dag. Soltis to ungarske sangere ... gør god fyldest, men kostumer og kameraføring virker i dag campet".


Jyllands-posten

d. 11. July 2008

By

By

John Christiansen

d. 11. July 2008

"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".


Jyllands-posten

d. 7. Oct. 2008

By

By

John Christiansen

d. 7. Oct. 2008


Fono Forum

2021 Juli

By

By

Gerhard Persché

2021 Juli

"Mälkki durchleuctet mit ihrem Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra die atmosphärische Vielfalt, den Kontrastreichtum dieser Partitur aufs Subtilste. Jede der sieben Türen bekommt eine unverwechselbare Farbe ... Der finnische Bariton Mika Kares mach Verletzlichkeit und Vereinsamung Blaubarts erfahrbar, während der junge ungarische Mezzosopranistin Szilvia Vörös eher das Mädchenhafte der Judit zeichnet als deren dramatische Power ... Doch auch diese "finno-ungarische" Produktion darf durchaus vorgezeigt werden. Vor allem dank Susanna Mälkki".


BBC music magazine

2021 June

By

By

George Hall (musikanmelder)

2021 June

"Both Kares and Vörös offer a subtle, understated approach ... As well as conveying the piece's taut structure and the orchestral writing's sheer sweep, conductor Susanna Mälkki seeks out the detail of Bartók's tone-painting, exploring, in her assured, potent account, the work's sense of psychological darkness and secrecy".


BBC music magazine

2014 June

By

By

Jessica Duchen

2014 June

"Vurdering: BBC music opera choice" - "Esa-Pekka Salonen drives the opera with a terse sense of focus ... this is a haunting and very moving account".


Fono Forum

2014 August

By

By

Giselher Schubert

2014 August

"Diese Klangkunst kostet Esa-Pekka Salonen voll aus: Keine klangliche Schattierung geht verloren ... Dieses Interpretationskonzept greifen die Solisten ideal auf ... Dieser bemerkenswerte Einspielung [ist] ein Ausdruck von geradezu archaisch-zeitlos wirkender Klanglichkeit".


BBC music magazine

2009 October

By

By

Michael Tanner (musikanmelder)

2009 October

"Vurdering: BBC music choice" - "Gergiev and his superlative orchestral forces and vocal soloists, supported by magnificent sound quality, present the enigmatic piece with great power, leaving us, as adequate performances always do, stunned and somewhat bewildered".


International record review

2011 September

By

By

Peter J. Rabinowitz

2011 September

"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".


The gramophone

2021 June

By

By

Edward Seckerson

2021 June

"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".


Jyllands-posten

d. 14. Mar. 2000

By

d. 14. Mar. 2000


Berlingske tidende

d. 1. Mar. 2003

By

d. 1. Mar. 2003


International record review

2008 April

By

By

Robert Levine (musikanmelder)

2008 April

"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".


Optakt

2008 04

By

By

Jens Cornelius

2008 04


The gramophone

2014 July

By

By

Rob Cowan (f. 1948)

2014 July

"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".


The gramophone

2009 October

By

By

Rob Cowan (f. 1948)

2009 October

"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".


Jyllands-posten

d. 5. Oct. 1999

By

d. 5. Oct. 1999