Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle (2021)

Bluebeard's Castle, Op. 11, Bartók's only opera, is not so often performed, partly because international singers who have Hungarian in their bones are not numerous. In this fine, sharp-edged reading by the Helsinki Philharmonic and conductor Susanna Mälkki, there is one Hungarian singer and one Finnish, which at least is in the same language family. There are many attractions to this release, beginning with the sound from BIS. It mixes live and session performances, which could have been disastrous, but it would take a keen ... Read More

Bluebeard's Castle, Op. 11, Bartók's only opera, is not so often performed, partly because international singers who have Hungarian in their bones are not numerous. In this fine, sharp-edged reading by the Helsinki Philharmonic and conductor Susanna Mälkki, there is one Hungarian singer and one Finnish, which at least is in the same language family. There are many attractions to this release, beginning with the sound from BIS. It mixes live and session performances, which could have been disastrous, but it would take a keen ear indeed to hear the seams, and the album has the communicative quality of live performances. The Helsinki Philharmonic is in absolutely top form, with all the details of Bartók's large expressionist orchestra in place, and Mälkki's reading is muscular, with gutsy contrasts, but the biggest attractions are the singers, Szilvia Vöros as Judith and the brooding bass Mika Kares as Bluebeard. They capture the story's psychological resonances, with the locked rooms representing... Read Less

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2021, BIS UPC: 7318599923888 SACD See All from $24.80