Opera Guide and Synopsis: Duke Bluebeard's Castle

Béla Bartók's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle (A Kékszakállú herceg Vára) was composed in 1911, although it was not performed until 1918, when it had undergone several revisions. The libretto, written by Béla Balász, is based on the fairy tale "Bluebeard" by Chalres Perrault. Both Balász's libretto and Bartók's music are based on Hungarian folk song traditions.

In the fairy tale "Bluebeard," a young woman marries a nobleman, Bluebeard, and is given the keys to every room in his house with the instruction that one particular room is forbidden. She enters the room anyway and discovers the bodies of Bluebeard's previous wives. After Bluebeard discovers that she has found the room and attempts to kill her, her brothers kill him and rescue her.

Balász's interpretation of the fairy tale is a psychological one. There are seven doors, rather than two, and the wife (named Judith in the opera) opens them with her husband present. Although the previous wives in the opera are not dead, the ending of Duke Bluebeard's Castle is much more haunting than the original fairy tale.

Characters in Duke Bluebeard's Castle

• Prologue (Spoken)
• Bluebeard (Baritone)
• Judith (Mezzo-soprano)
• Bluebeard's Wives (Silent)

Synopsis of Duke Bluebeard's Castle

A prologue introduces the story, addressing the audience and asking, "Where's the stage: is it outside or in?"

The curtain rises to reveal Bluebeard's castle, a dark, gloomy place with seven doors. Judith, who has run away from her fiancé to marry Bluebeard, insists that they open the doors to let light in. He resists, warning her that "You don't know what lies behind them." She insists, however, and he lets her open the doors.

Behind the first door is a torture chamber. "The walls are bleeding," Judith cries, but denies being afraid.

Behind the second door is a weapon's storeroom. Blood covers all the weapons. Bluebeard warns her to be careful, but she demands the rest of the keys.

Behind the third door is a treasure chamber. He tells her that all the jewels will be hers, but again she sees that they are covered in blood. He urges her to open the fourth door.

Behind the fourth door is a beautiful garden. She sees that the garden, too, has been watered by blood, and asks whose it is. He refuses to say, and again urges her to open the next door.

Behind the fifth door is a window revealing Bluebeard's kingdom. At this point, Bluebeard begs her to stop, saying that the castle now has enough light. Judith insists, however, upon seeing what is behind the last two doors.

Behind the sixth door is a sea of tears. Judith asks Bluebeard whom he loved before her, but he repeats, "Judith, love me, ask no questions" and insists upon keeping the seventh door shut. When she tells him that she's figured out the source of the blood, and that the seventh door must be hiding the bodies of his former wives, he gives her the key.

When Judith opens the seventh door, she finds not the bodies of his wives, but three living, silent women wearing crowns and jewels. Bluebeard explains that he found the first at sunrise, the second at noon, and the third at sunset. Judith, the fourth, was found at midnight, and will become queen over them.

Bluebeard places a crown of diamonds on her head, and she begs, "Spare me, it is too heavy." She sinks under the weight of it and enters the seventh room, closing the door. "Henceforth all shall be darkness," Bluebeard finishes.

Sources

"Bluebeard's Castle: The Birth of Cinema from the Spirit of Opera," by Nicholas Vázsonyi

Bluebeard's Castle Libretto

The Opera Goer's Complete Guide, by Leo Melitz