Duke Bluebeard's Castle : Gergiev / London Symphony Orchestra, W.White, Zhidkova (2009 Stereo)

Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle

Elena Zhidkova, Soprano
Sir Willard White, Bass
London Symphony Orchestra
Valery Gergiev, conductor

Recorded January 2009, Barbican, London
DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording
James Mallinson, producer
Jonathan Stokes and Neil Hutchinson for Classic Sound Ltd sound, engineers

Please note this title is only available on SACD (compatible with all CD players)
Notes in English/en francais/auf Deutsch

Bartok's only opera is an intense drama, involving only two characters and underpinned by a rich orchestral score. Bluebeard's young bride persuades him to open seven doors in his castle to let the light in. Behind each door she finds increasingly disturbing sights, until the final door opens to reveal the castle's secret and her fate.

Concert reviews:
' Who needs weeping walls and blood-stained jewels when you have
the voice of Elena Zhidkova? As Bluebeard's wife she made us see
and feel it all'
The Times (UK)

' a performance of white-hot intensity ... Gergiev drew out all the
myriad colours ... Elena Zhidkova who was nothing short
of sensational' MusicOMH (UK) ( LSO )