Duke Bluebeard's Castle

E899658

Duke Bluebeard's Castle is a one-act symbolist opera by Béla Bartók that explores psychological darkness and mystery through the story of Bluebeard and his new wife Judith.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Bluebeard’s Castle (libretto) 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf one-act opera
opera
symbolist opera
basedOn Bluebeard folk tale
catalogueNumber BB 62
Sz. 48
characterVoiceType Bluebeard – baritone
Judith – mezzo-soprano
commissionedBy Royal Hungarian Opera (effectively, via competition) NERFINISHED
composer Béla Bartók NERFINISHED
compositionCompleted 1911
countryOfOrigin Hungary NERFINISHED
dramaticFocus inner psychological states rather than external action
duration approximately 60 minutes
firstPublisher Universal Edition NERFINISHED
genre symbolism
language Hungarian
librettist Béla Balázs NERFINISHED
mainCharacter Bluebeard NERFINISHED
Judith NERFINISHED
musicalInfluence Debussy NERFINISHED
Hungarian folk music
Richard Strauss NERFINISHED
notableFeature continuous music without separate numbers
motivic leitmotifs
symbolic use of orchestral color
numberOfActs 1
numberOfDoors 7
orchestration large orchestra
originalTitle A kékszakállú herceg vára NERFINISHED
period 20th century
premiereDate 1918-05-24
premiereLocation Budapest NERFINISHED
premiereTheatre Royal Hungarian Opera House NERFINISHED
setting Bluebeard's castle NERFINISHED
interior of a dark castle
structure prologue and seven scenes
style early 20th-century modernism
theme curiosity
emotional isolation
marital relationships
mystery
psychological darkness
secrecy
vocalForces two singers
voiceType baritone
mezzo-soprano

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Béla Bartók notableWork Duke Bluebeard's Castle
Bela Balázs notableWork Duke Bluebeard's Castle
subject surface form: Béla Balázs
this entity surface form: Bluebeard’s Castle (libretto)