Search - Bartok, Troyanos, Boulez :: Bluebeard's Castle

Grand reading conveying all the ambiguity of a masterpiece

Emmanuel Voyiakis | London, UK | 12/12/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some recordings remind me of old wine:They not only stand the test of time, but also remind us what sound Boulez could draw from the BBC Symphony Orchestra a couple of decades back. His reading is characteristic of the "Ice-Man", not lingering over Bartok's sentimental pages, the grandest passages taken at a comfortable and essentially "right" speed. The orchestra respond perfectly to Bartok's textures, the brass prominent (try the great C major chord,fifth door, track 8) and the strings lean and mean. Both soloists give a totally satisfying account of the roles of Bluebeard and Judith. Troyannos makes you feel the ambivalence in Judith's character and Nimsgern provides a dark and tormented Bluebeard. Reservations? None. The Chicago remake does not add anything new to our perception of the work and should only be preferred by Norman fans. By the way, the DG sound is only marginally better than the CBS (Sony). I just whish that somebody for once recorded the spoken prologue, an essential introduction to the metaphors and sub-realities of this wonderful operatic masterpiece."

Music for the end of the millenium

Emmanuel Voyiakis | 11/11/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording is sorrowful and intense, Boulez giving Bartok's masterpiece the thoroughly 20th Century interpretation it deserves: majestically dark."