Classical Review: Iolanta/Duke Bluebeard’s Castle

Omniplex, Mahon 

Mariusz Trelinski brought all of his cinematic experience to bear in his production of these two, one-act operas for the latest MET Live in HD presentation.

There is a tenuous connection between the stories. Each features a central male character (King René, Iolanta’s father/the eponymous Duke) who controls the heroines. René does so to protect his blind daughter, while Bluebeard is a serial killer. While there were several incongruous, though brilliantly cinematic, features in this production, the overall effect of the set, costume, and lighting was riveting.

Iolanta is a charming tale of René’s misguided, protective paternal love, which is overcome by the romantic love of his daughter’s suitor. The mysterious, fairy tale atmosphere is set by the orchestral woodwinds, as we are drawn into the forest home where Iolanta is imprisoned. While the music does not have the emotional depth or immediacy of Tchaikowsky’s great operas, it is lush, rich, and Romantic and the singing was spectacular. Anna Netrebko, Alexei Tanovitski, Alexey Markov, and Elchin Azizov, as well as the unnamed gamekeeper and handmaids, are all Russian. Piotr Beczala, the Polish tenor, is the exception and, for once in opera, he wins his beloved Iolanta and they all…

The quirky staging of the psychological drama in Bartok’s opera so distracted me that I will have to listen to a recording to sort out my reaction to the score. I expected it to be far more dissonant. Valery Gergiev seemed to soften the effects of the orchestral semitone clashes that are a feature of the music. Nadja Michael was a magnificent Judith; her singing was enthralling. I would have welcomed a more menacing performance from Mikhail Petrenko and still cannot understand why Judith had to sing from the bathtub, nor why, having joined the other murdered wives, she had to sing in a wet T-shirt.