Friday 4 November 2011

Duke Bluebeard's Castle tours Europe

Don't let the words "multi media or "semi staging" scare you. away. Béla Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle at the Royal Festival Hall is sensationally good. You can hear the broadcast on BBC Radio 3 HERE (online, international and on demand), and of course it's a splendid performance (Esa-Pekka Salonen, John Tomlinson, Michelle DeYoung and the Philharmonia).  But if you missed it live, you've seriously missed something big. This is what opera staging should be - sensitive to score and meaning, expanding musical ideas with visual images. Minimalist? Yes! Spartan? Yes! That's exactly what this story is about. I'll write a lot more tomorrow but in the meantime HERE is a short film clip.

It's touring, too. So lucky people in  Vienna (7th and 8th), Dijon (9th), Dortmund (12th), and Paris (15th November) start booking now!



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