Bartók’s only opera, A kékszakállú herceg vára (Bluebeard’s Castle), was written in 1911 and revised in 1912 and 1917. The libretto, by the poet and film theorist Béla Balázs, is based on Charles Perrault’s story La Barbe Bleue.
Balázs originally offered his libretto to Kodály, but it was Bartók who eventually set the text.
A castle that bleeds. Seven doors to be unlocked…
Bartók: In Bluebeard’s Castle
1. Torture chamber 16:34
2. Armoury 20:49
3. Treasury 24:42
4. Garden 27:12
5. Kingdom 31:58
6. Lake of tears 38:35
7. Wives 51:30
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Pontarddulais!
The Art of Listening 