Recommended for Grades 6-12
In this resource, you will:
- Learn the opera’s background and synopsis
- Meet the opera’s composer
Duke Bluebeard’s Castle
by Béla Bartók
Duke Bluebeard's Castle
by Béla Bartók
A quick overview of Bartók’s 1918 opera of the French folk tale.
Background
Béla Balázs shared with Béla Bartók a determination to create an opera which was modern and Hungarian. Basing his libretto on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault, Balázs wrote the text for either Bartók or Zoltán Kodály to set. Bartók composed his version in 1911, entering it in a national competition for one-act operas.
The opera did not win and was not produced by the Budapest Opera until after the successful run of Balázs and Bartók’s ballet The Wooden Prince in 1917. Duke Bluebeard’s Castle was first performed in a double bill with that ballet. This opera, a masterful psychological study through music, was Bartók’s only venture into the opera genre.
Synopsis
Bluebeard brings Judith, his new bride, to a remote castle. There are no windows, only seven locked doors. Bluebeard tells her that no one must see what lies behind them. She asks that the doors be opened to let in air and sunlight. He opens the first door, revealing a torture chamber. Judith is unafraid and asks Bluebeard to let her open the second door. Behind it, she finds his armory, its weapons covered in blood.
In the third room, she sees mountains of gold, fabulous and gems, all are stained with blood. The fourth door reveals the castle’s secret garden, its flowers speckled with blood. He tells her not to question him and bids her open the fifth door to fill the castle with light (“Nyisd ki az ötödik ajtót”). Through the fifth door, Judith sees Bluebeard’s vast kingdom, but soon a cloud casts a blood-red shadow over the radiant landscape.
Two doors are still unopened. He says they must remain so, but she again resists. Bluebeard lets her open the sixth door. Behind it lies a tranquil lake, filled with tears (“Csendes fehér látok”). Bluebeard warns her that the last door must stay shut forever. She demands that it be opened. In the final chamber are the ghosts of his former wives.
—Synopsis by William Friedkin
Meet the Artists
Listen to the Story
Gustave Doré (1832–1883), Barbe Bleue (Bluebeard), woodcut, 1862 [].
Presented by Washington National Opera, host Saul Lilienstein takes you through the musical world of Bartók’s 1918 opera of the French folk tale, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.
Watch an Excerpt
Nadja Michael (Judith) and Mikhail Petrenko (Bluebeard) in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.
Related Resources
Media Cinderella (La Cenerentola)
A quick overview of Rossini’s 1817 operatic dramma giocoso.
Media The Flying Dutchman
A quick overview of Wagner’s 1843 maritime ghost story.
Media Opera's Late Romantic Era: 1865-1920
Uncover the driving forces behind opera’s fiercest era, including Europe’s semi-unhealthy obsession with death, desire, and nationalist identity—all of which sparked a wild streak of artistic innovation and some truly iconic music for the stage.
Media Boy Meets Girl, Girl Meets Tragic End
Opera has always been addicted to love, and its romances can range from the hilarious to the dramatic. But don’t expect a standard “Boy Meets Girl” story when you take your seat at the opera house.
Kennedy Center Education Digital Learning
Eric Friedman
Director, Digital Learning
Kenny Neal
Manager, Digital Education Resources
Tiffany A. Bryant
Manager, Operations and Audience Engagement
JoDee Scissors
Content Specialist, Digital Learning
Connect with us!
Generous support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.
Gifts and grants to educational programs at the Kennedy Center are provided by The Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; Bank of America; Capital One; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Ednah Root Foundation; Harman Family Foundation; William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust; the Kimsey Endowment; The Kiplinger Foundation; Laird Norton Family Foundation; Lois and Richard England Family Foundation; Dr. Gary Mather and Ms. Christina Co Mather; The Markow Totevy Foundation; Dr. Gerald and Paula McNichols Foundation; The Morningstar Foundation; Myra and Leura Younker Endowment Fund; The Irene Pollin Audience Development and Community Engagement Initiatives;
Prince Charitable Trusts; Dr. Deborah Rose and Dr. Jan A. J. Stolwijk; Rosemary Kennedy Education Fund; The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates; The Victory Foundation; The Volgenau Foundation; Volkswagen Group of America; Jackie Washington; GRoW @ Annenberg and Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family; Wells Fargo; and generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas. Additional support is provided by the National Committee for the Performing Arts..
The content of these programs may have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education but does not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the federal government.