Dark, fascinating work
There are many meanings and cautionary messages that can be drawn from the fairytales of Charles Perrault, but 'Bluebeard' - the tale of an aristocratic serial killer who murders his wives - is surely one of the most gruesome and darkly enigmatic. Even more so in Ariane et Barbe-bleue, the version penned by the Symbolist Belgian dramatist Maurice Maeterlinck, the author of Pelléas et Mélisande, who himself adapted the work - again practically intact - as a libretto for the French composer Paul Dukas. Comparisons with Debussy's opera - written only five years previously in 1902 - are inevitable, but if the musical influences that Dukas draws from are more evident and less distinctive than Debussy, the turn of the 20th century psychological exploration of Maeterlinck's characters is no less endlessly fascinating and deeply compelling.
Although it is rather more emphatic in highlighting the specifics of the drama and the words than Debussy, Dukas' score also...
Missed opportunity
This is a wistfully beautiful score, an emotionally-charged, quasi-Wagnerian opera, with scents of Massenet and Faure, and a nod to Debussy. It is set to the Bluebeard story, from the play by symbolist writer Maurice Maeterlinck. He wrote the story with an idea for an opera, and Grieg in mind for the composer. Grieg lost interest and Maeterlinck sought out Dukas who took up the mantle.
It has a good pedigree. Toscanini gave its U.S. premiere with the Metropolitan Opera in 1911 and it has been recorded several times in audio. This is its first performance on DVD; it's a mystery why it hasn't been filmed before. Dukas is far more than the popular Sorcerer's Apprentice's. His Symphony and the ballet La Peri are first-rate French romantic works and Ariane et Barbe-blue grips the listener with its searing beauty.
This 2011 performance from Barcelona has some important strengths. The orchestra is a major component of the work and conductor Stephane Deneve brings sweep,...
A Fine Performance of an important opera that's hard to like
Ariane was much admired by some of the most important composers of our time, yet its greatness is not too apparent on a single viewing. There is much use of the whole tone scale and thus some melodies do not stick in your mind on first hearing. The plot which outlines the tribulations of women obsessed by an attraction to an unsuitable male and one woman's unsuccessful attempt to free them from this bondage and only partial success in freeing herself is not particularly exciting. Yet the opera has its moments and requires repeated listening.
Click to Editorial Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment