Bluebeard100 - Iván Madarász: Prologue; Béla Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle

Béla Bartók's sole opera starts with a prose prologue, which the score calls for a character designated as the “Minstrel” to narrate. This is unquestionably an interesting artistic decision to have a character outside the storyline of Judith and Bluebeard recite directly to the audience, without musical accompaniment, five stanzas of philosophical bardic poetry, which has the effect of foreshadowing and establishing both the message and the atmosphere of the work. Many productions omit the prologue, even though it constitutes an integral part of the opera.
Iván Madarász's fifth opera, commissioned by the Hungarian State Opera, uses the text of Béla Balázs's unique introduction as its basis. On the second night of the Bluebeard100 programme series, Viktor Nagy's 1993 production of Bluebeard's Castle will be prefaced with the world premiere of the Kossuth Prize- and Ferenc Erkel Award-winning composer's newest work.

Prologue
Opera in one act, in concert performance, in Hungarian
World premiere

Cast
Conductor    Ádám Medveczky
Featuring     István Kovács
Bluebeard
Judit            Adrienn Miksch
Prologue      Péter Balczó

Credits
Composer    Iván Madarász
Director and visual conception    Géza M.Tóth
Libretto after Béla Balázs edited by    Iván Madarász
Projected scenery    Kedd Animation Studio

Bluebeard's Castle

Cast
Conductor    Ádám Medveczky
Judith          Gyöngyi Lukács
Bluebeard    Péter Fried

Credits
Librettist    Béla Balázs
Director    Viktor Nagy
Projected scenery    Ready By Wednesday
Costume designer    Nelly Vágó
English surtitles    Péter Zollman