Bluebeard’s Castle & The 8th Door
A co-production with Scottish Opera
Bartók’s beautiful, mysterious opera is directed by Vanishing Point founder and Artistic Director, Matthew Lenton. It is staged alongside The 8th Door, a new theatre work Lenton has created with Scottish Opera Composer in Residence Lliam Paterson, delving further into Bluebeard’s secretive world to create an ambitious double bill that is set to enthral and intrigue.
Bluebeard’s Castle is a tale of mystery, obsession, murder and infatuation, to which Lenton brings a disturbing dose of contemporary resonance. From the spine-tingling to the truly unsettling, Bartok’s music contrasts the intimacy of just two singers with one of the richest orchestrations in opera. Internationally acclaimed singers Karen Cargill and Robert Hayward bring the characters to life.
Inspired by Bartók’s great masterpiece, The 8th Door probes those things left unsaid – the spaces and silences in Bluebeard’s Castle. Performed by a cast of actors from around the globe, it holds up a mirror to the world of Bluebeard, weaving together the poetry of his Hungarian contemporaries and Paterson’s clear and vibrant music. Six singers join the orchestra in the pit, delivering a wealth of textures and sounds to a strikingly beautiful visual story of love and confusion.
Popular UK conductor Sian Edwards conducts both works.
Press
“★★★★★ Karen Cargill sings Judith’s music gorgeously, shaping Hungarian as if it’s bel-canto Italian. She’s well partnered by Robert Hayward’s conflicted Bluebeard, and the two have been carefully directed by Lenton.”
“★★★★ Utterly sensational’”
“★★★★ In his confident operatic debut, Lenton stages Bluebeard’s Castle, applying careful dramatic choreography, while Kai Fischer’s projections and contemporary living-room set produce unexpected ways of displaying the shocking secrets hidden behind Bluebeard’s locked doors.”
Credits
A co-production with Scottish Opera
Bluebeard's Castle by Bartók
Conductor Sian Edwards
Director Matthew Lenton
Set, Lighting & Projection Design Kai Fischer
Costume Design Jessica Brettle
Assistant Director Jim Manganello
Bluebeard Robert Hayward
Judith Karen Cargill
Wives Elicia Daly, Pauline Goldsmith and Gresa Pallaska
Prologue Robert Jack
The 8th Door by Matthew Lenton & Lliam Paterson
Conductor Sian Edwards
Conceived and Directed by Matthew Lenton
Composed by Lliam Paterson
Co-created by Matthew Lenton and Lliam Paterson
Set, Lighting and Projection Design Kai Fischer
Costume Design Jessica Brettle
Assistant Director Jim Manganello
Creative Associate Pauline Goldsmith
Performers Elicia Daly, Robert Jack and Gresa Pallaska
Singers Katie Grosset, Martin Häßler, Daniel Keating-Roberts, Hazel McBain, William Morgan and Emily Vine
Photography: Mihaela Bodlovic
Performance history
28, 30 March & 1 April 2017
Theatre Royal, Glasgow
5 & 8 April 2017
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
