Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle [Sung in English]

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Bartok: Bluebeard's Castle [Sung in English]
1.	Duke Bluebeard's Castle (A kékszakkallú Herceg Vára), opera in one act, Sz. 48, BB 62 (Op. 11) 1:02:59
	Composed by Béla Bartók
	Performed by Simon Lindley, Sally Burgess, John Tomlinson, Charles Kilpatrick and Orchestra of Opera North
	Conducted by Richard Farnes

All Music Guide

Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, like any other opera performed in English and not its original language, depends on three things for its success: how good the text sounds sung in translation, how well the performers project the music’s atmosphere, and, as always, how impressively the sound reproduces the performance. In the case of this translation by John Lloyd Davies, the text sounds just fine sung in English, a little stilted here and therewith some odd stresses and accents, perhaps, but overall, Davies catches the tone of the original and sets it with style and sensitivity. In the case of these performances by John Tomlinson as Bluebeard and Sally Burgess as his wife Judith, the singers sound more or less just fine. Tomlinson is an enthusiastic singer and his portrayal has many insights but his voice lacks sufficient weight and his interpretation misses some of the nuances of the character while Burgess is a strong singer and her portrayal is ardent enough but her voice is not altogether lovely and her characterization seems limited to terror and outrage. In the case of these performances by Richard Farnes and the Orchestra of Opera North, the instrumentalists sound less than more just fine. Farnes is a more than capable conductor and the OON is a more than competent ensemble but he doesn’t have quite enough passion and they don’t have quite enough polish to bring off Bartók’s opulently colorful and immensely difficult score. In the case of the sound, Chandos has unaccountably given the performance a too distant, almost faint, acoustic except in the climaxes which are too curiously too close and loud. James Leonard

All Music Guide

Bartók's "Bluebeard's Castle," like any other opera performed in English and not its original language, depends on three things for its success: how good the text sounds sung in translation, how well the performers project the music's atmosphere, and, as always, how impressively the sound reproduces the performance. In the case of this translation by John Lloyd Davies, the text sounds just fine sung in English, a little stilted here and there with some odd stresses and accents, perhaps, but overall, Davies catches the tone of the original and sets it with style and sensitivity. In the case of these performances by John Tomlinson as Bluebeard and Sally Burgess as his wife Judith, the singers sound more or less just fine. Tomlinson is an enthusiastic singer and his portrayal has many insights, but his voice lacks sufficient weight and his interpretation misses some of the nuances of the character. Burgess is a strong singer and her portrayal is ardent enough, but her voice is not altogether lovely and her characterization seems limited to terror and outrage. In the case of these performances by Richard Farnes and the Orchestra of Opera North, the instrumentalists sound less than more just fine. Farnes is a more than capable conductor and the OON is a more than competent ensemble, but he doesn't have quite enough passion and there isn't quite enough polish to bring off Bartók's opulently colorful and immensely difficult score. In the case of the sound, Chandos has unaccountably given the performance a too distant, almost faint acoustic, except in the climaxes that are curiously too close and loud. James Leonard