Magic music, black, empty staging: Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle at the Teatro Real.

Madrid, November 8, 2025.

The Teatro Real often organizes opera cycles, within its seasons. This year, there's a cycle centered on Bluebeard, and another one on Shakespeare. Regarding the former, we'll have two classics by two 20th-century composers: Bluebeard's Castle, in a double program with The Miraculous Mandarin, in November 2025 both by Béla Bartók, and Ariadne et Barbebleue by Paul Dukas in January 2026. 

Bartók is one of the most popular composers of the 20th century, and one of those who did the most for the study and dissemination of Central European regional music in his time. This opera has never before been performed at the Teatro Real. In 2018, it was performed in concert by the Spanish National Orchestra at the National Auditorium, conducted by David Afkham, with Elena Zhidkova and Bálint Szabó; and also in concert that same year by the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra, under the baton of Miguel Ángel Gómez-Martínez, with Vladimir Chernov and Ana Ibarra. Given its short duration, the first part is preceded by a the pantomime ballet "The Marvelous Mandarin", which also includes the first movement of the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by the same author.

This time, the production comes from the Basel Opera, directed by Christof Loy, a regular at the Teatro Real. This combination of ballet and opera features a dark and minimalist production that has garnered little enthusiasm both from critics and audiences. The Miraculous Mandarin is a pantomime ballet about the story of a woman forced into prostitution by three pimps, meeting a mandarin falls in love with her, only to be killed, dying in his beloved's arms. At the time, it was so scandalous at its premiere in Cologne in 1926 that the then-mayor, Konrad Adenauer, banned performances for being immoral. In this version, the story continues; their love proves stronger than death, and he is ultimately resurrected. Both in this work and in Bluebeard's Castle, the stage is a vast emptiness, dominated by an old telephone booth, an old mattress, clothes strewn on the floor, a small pond, and, to the right, a sort of forest of wooden poles. Márton Agh's choreography seemed rather reduced, telling the story but expanding it with a possible homoerotic attraction of the pimps towards the mandarin, but with a not very attractive choreography, seeming more like a choreographed drama than a ballet. 

As for Bluebeard's Castle, it's a variation with a tragic ending on Perrault's tale, difficult to stage due to its constant set changes. Judith's curiosity to know what lies behind the seven doors of Bluebeard's gloomy castle will lead to her doom, making her a kind of "cousin" to Elsa in Lohengrin, but Bluebeard's secret is terrible, compared to the holy secret of the Wagnerian hero. To the challenge of how to represent this fairy tale, Loy's production has a simple, and simplistic, answer: darkness. The darkness of Bluebeard's castle, where no light enters. But here there are neither keys nor doors (which do appear in the trailer for the performances). The set is the same as in the previous play: now the phone booth appears almost completely buried, and the same things and the mattress are still scattered on the floor. There are no keys, no doors, nothing to suggest that they are in a castle or what lies behind each of the rooms. Only the two singers are present, dressed in black, as if their performance were meant to leave the magical atmosphere described in the music to the spectator's imagination, contrasting sharply with the absolute blackness of what is seen on stage. In fact, while the beautiful music of Bluebeard's treasure room plays, we see him placing his jacket on Judith and embracing her tenderly, and nothing else. Does the production intend for us to think that the castle rooms are actually the traumas and past experiences of the characters? Finally, under the watchful gaze of the narrator from the prologue, Judith sits gazing at the horizon, while the stage darkens and Bluebeard enters the trapdoor where the pond was in the previous play. 

Starting this season, Maestro Gustavo Gimeno will be the music director of the Teatro Real. The Valencian conductor takes the helm of the Teatro Real Orchestra, delivering a fine performance, although some harshness can be discerned in the clarinets and flutes in Bluebeard's Castle. Bartók's music is opulent and richly orchestrated, and both works have striking moments, such as the violin and celesta in the magical third gate scene of Bluebeard's, or the powerful music that evokes his dominions in the fifth gate scene. Despite the aforementioned limitations, the orchestra performed admirably.

Evelyn Herlitzius, a German soprano known for her powerful Wagnerian interpretations, celebrated more for her stage presence and vocal volume than for the beauty of her voice, has rarely sung in Spain. In Barcelona, ​​she sang in Die Walküre in 2008 and Elektra in 2016, the latter being her last appearance there, as she was unable to sing in the Liceu's Lohengrin, scheduled for 2020 (and finally premiered in March of this year, but with Okka von der Damerau and Miina-Liisa Värelä taking her role), due to the Covid-19 pandemic that forced the theater to close. In 2007 she sang in Verdi's Oberto in Bilbao. In 2009 she sang Isolde in Seville, and the brief role of Venus in Tannhäuser in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. However, this is her Madrid debut. At 62, Herlitzius's stage presence remains undiminished. She's a performer who fully immerses herself in the strong-willed heroines she portrays. Although her voice is now mature, and she may have lost some volume due to the repertoire she's undertaken throughout her career (roles like Elektra, where she's a benchmark, Brunhilde, or Isolde), her passionate performing style remains untouched. She still possesses some powerful and impressive high notes, her low notes are equally remarkable and perfectly suited to the tormented character, and her middle register still sounds remarkably. Furthermore, in every phrase, one senses the character's fragility and dangerous curiosity, in a total commitment to the drama. In fact, I wondered if she still sounded the same as on recordings from her prime. Just seeing her on stage makes this production a must. It's a pity she hadn't sung here before, specially her signature roles.

Alongside her, the bass Christoph Fischesser, who has been seen before on this stage in Capriccio and The Magic Flute, was also a well-sung Bluebeard, with a pleasant timbre.

I can add little, given my ignorance of the subject, and the fact that most of what happened took place in the corner of the stage I couldn't see, regarding the group of dancers in the first part, except that their beautiful bodies tried to tell the story, within the limitations of the limited choreography. Nor can I say much about the Hungarian introductions recited by the Dutch actor Nicolas Franciscus, except to express my gratitude that the Bluebeard is presented in its entirety.

I wouldn't say that Mr. Loy won over the audience this time, nor that this is his best work, as the atmosphere didn't suit the beautiful, descriptive music, turning what should have been evocative and magical into something tedious. This was especially true in Bluebeard's Castle, where the lack of atmosphere was even more jarring, prompting one to wonder if a concert version wouldn't have been more honest. Despite this, there were generous ovations for both singers, as well as for the ballet company. This has been (as the last performance took place yesterday) a unique opportunity to see Bela Bartók's brilliant stage work performed in Madrid, but I hope it returns with a better production.

My reviews are not professional and express only my opinions. As a non English native speaker I apologise for any mistake.

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