BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE

BÉLA BARTÓK (1881–1945) — CONCERT VERSION

Opera

OPERA IN ONE ACT WITH A PROLOGUE, OP. 11/SZ. 48
LIBRETTO BY BÉLA BALÁZS, BASED ON CHARLES PERRAULT’S LA BARBE-BLEUE (1697) AND MAURICE MAETERLINCK’S ARIANE ET BARBE-BLEUE (1899)
FIRST PERFORMED ON 24 MAY 1918 AT THE BUDAPEST OPERA

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Conductor
Klaus Mäkelä
Barbe-Bleue
Gerald Finley
Judith
Irene Roberts
Orchestra
Orchestre de Paris

About

The great hall of a Gothic castle surrounded by seven closed doors. Drawn away from her family by Bluebeard, Judith vows to bring light and joy into the world of this husband whom she loves, a world in which there seems to be nothing but darkness and misery. Despite all the warnings and increasingly disturbing revelations – which give beauty the colour of blood – she demands that the mysterious doors be opened one by one. But is Bluebeard really the monster we imagine him to be? What has become of his previous wives, and what fate awaits Judith behind the final door? Alongside The Woman without a Shadow, its contemporary – which also depicts a journey of initiation in chiaroscuro – Klaus Mäkelä and the Orchestre de Paris will be presenting one of the greatest operatic masterpieces of the 20th century, with its constant dramatic tension and unparalleled musical expressiveness. Performing this timeless fable set in the theatre of the soul are Gerald Finley, making his grand return, and Irene Roberts, making her debut in a new role that promises great things to come.

Performance

Saturday11July 2026
Grand Théâtre de Provence7:00 PM
Book online
Category 1
€128.00
Category 2
€96.00
Category 3
€78.00
Category 4
€60.00
Category 5
€32.00

Youth prices
€38, €28, €23, €18, €10

Performance available with ticket packages

Sung in Hungarian with French and English surtitles
1 hour without interval

GETTING TO THE FESTIVAL
— by public transport or by bike
— by carpooling
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Streaming

Broadcast on 20 July at 8 PM on France Musique

Related

DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN

THE WOMAN WITHOUT A SHADOW — RICHARD STRAUSS (1864–1949)
Klaus Makela.Photo_ Marco Borggreve.All Rights Reserved.jpg

KLAUS MÄKELÄ: THE ART OF RADIANT CONDUCTING

In Stars du Classique on France Musique, Aurélie Moreau traces the meteoric rise of this young conductor — now regarded as one of the best of his generation — through the works of Sibelius, Shostakovich, Debussy, Stravinsky, Mahler, Berlioz and Ravel, which he conducts.
At the Festival
Wednesday, April 22, 2026