'Bluebeard's Castle' is refreshing change

"BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE," UTAH SYMPHONY, Abravanel Hall, Friday.

The Utah Symphony and music director Keith Lockhart took a leap of faith last weekend when they presented a semi-staged version of Bela Bartok's 1918 one-act opera "Bluebeard's Castle" in Abravanel Hall.

And in what might bode well in terms of programming for future symphony seasons, the performance Friday evening was well-attended and well-received.

Having kowtowed far too much to popular taste for far too many years at the expense of introducing a broader repertoire, one can only hope that last weekend's offering will usher in a new era at the symphony, one that will embrace a greater spectrum of works.

This production was intelligently staged and imaginatively presented. The opera takes place in a room in Duke Bluebeard's castle that has seven doors. These doors were hung above and behind the orchestra at ominous angles, and lit with a spotlight as they were referred to in the story. The singers were stageright on a short-stage extension.

"Bluebeard's Castle" is a wonderful symbolist work that can be interpreted on several different levels. One is led to assume that Bluebeard has murdered his former wives and will kill Judith, his current wife. But as the plot unfolds, the audience discovers that the doors Judith unlocks are in fact metaphors for Bluebeard's character. The veil, behind which the duke has hidden for so long, is stripped away and, with Judith's aid, his persona is gradually revealed.

Singing this weekend were bass-baritone Mark Schnaible as Duke Bluebeard and mezzo-soprano Sally Burgess as Judith. They gave a stunning vocal performance matched by their acting talents.

The Utah Symphony played the complex score wondrously. Lockhart's direction was on the mark, and the interpretation was dramatic, forceful and spellbinding.

The composer's son, Peter Bartok, has been in the process of re-editing his father's stage works, correcting mistakes and performance indications that have crept into the score over the decades. And this weekend's Utah Symphony performances of "Bluebeard's Castle" was the premiere of this newly edited version.

Preceding the Bartok at these concerts were two works by Mozart — the overture to "The Abduction from the Seraglio" and the Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, "Turkish." The orchestra played these two works cleanly and articulately.

Symphony concertmaster Ralph Matson was the soloist in the concerto. Matson's fluid playing and warm tones captured the elegance of the music radiantly.

The five concertos that Mozart wrote for the violin aren't technically challenging by the standards that were set in the late 19th century. Consequently, they allow the soloist to display his musical side, and Matson did so immaculately. His eloquent, refined playing emphasized the work's lyricism and charm to the fullest.

---

E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com