Herzog Blaubarts Burg
Encyclopedia
Herzog Blaubarts Burg (1963) is a film of the opera
Bluebeard's Castle
by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók
, written in 1911
to a symbolist libretto by the poet and later film theorist Béla Balázs
. The film was made for West German
television, Süddeutscher Rundfunk
, and was produced by Norman Foster
, who also performs the lead role. The designer was Hein Heckroth
who brought in his old friend Michael Powell
, for whom he had designed a number of films, to direct it. The film, which was shot at Dürer Film Ateliers in Salzburg, Austria, was out of circulation for decades because of legal problems.
The opera tells a modified version of the story of Bluebeard
, a notorious 19th century Parisian murderer who woos women, marries them, and then kills them (in the opera, there are three previous wives rather than seven, and it is not clear that they are dead). He reluctantly and gradually reveals everything to his fourth wife, opening the seven doors in his castle to show her their bloody secrets. The only performers are Norman Foster
as Bluebeard and Ana Raquel Satre
as Judit, his fourth wife, accompanied by the Zagreb Symphony Orchestra conducted by Milan Horvath. It is sung in German
although prints exist with English
subtitles. A recent print was made which included Powell's notes on the production, displayed as subtitles.
Bartók's opera, which did not receive its first mounting until 1918
, was widely regarded as "unperformable" due to its lack of stage action. Powell and Heckroth turn this quality to their advantage by creating an intense, expressionist psychodrama, where lighting and abstract décor convey the gradual revelation of Bluebeard's inner torment to his last wife. The vivid colours and semi-abstract, neo-primitive décor designed by Heckroth and his team give the film a suitably oppressive feel.
After the trauma of Peeping Tom
s reception, Powell succeeded with a musical project that is the equal of anything in his career. Herzog Blaubarts Burg stands as a final proof of The Archers
' and Powell's claim that the essential unity of art can best be realized in cinema.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Bluebeard's Castle
Bluebeard's Castle
Duke Bluebeard's Castle is a one-act opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. The libretto was written by Béla Balázs, a poet and friend of the composer. It is in Hungarian, based on the French fairy tale "Bluebeard" by Charles Perrault...
by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
, written in 1911
1911 in music
-Events:*January 26 - Première of the opera Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, in Dresden; the librettist is Hugo von Hoffmansthal and the director is Max Reinhardt....
to a symbolist libretto by the poet and later film theorist Béla Balázs
Béla Balázs
----Béla Balázs , born Herbert Bauer, was a Hungarian-Jewish film critic, aesthete, writer and poet....
. The film was made for West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
television, Süddeutscher Rundfunk
Süddeutscher Rundfunk
The Süddeutscher Rundfunk was a German radio and television station operating in the northern part of the state of Baden-Württemberg. It existed from 1949 to 1998, when it was merged with the then Südwestfunk to form the Südwestrundfunk....
, and was produced by Norman Foster
Norman Foster (bass)
Norman Foster was an American operatic bass-baritone, a film and television actor and a television producer.-Recordings:...
, who also performs the lead role. The designer was Hein Heckroth
Hein Heckroth
German art director Hein Heckroth began his career working with the German national ballet...
who brought in his old friend Michael Powell
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
, for whom he had designed a number of films, to direct it. The film, which was shot at Dürer Film Ateliers in Salzburg, Austria, was out of circulation for decades because of legal problems.
The opera tells a modified version of the story of Bluebeard
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
, a notorious 19th century Parisian murderer who woos women, marries them, and then kills them (in the opera, there are three previous wives rather than seven, and it is not clear that they are dead). He reluctantly and gradually reveals everything to his fourth wife, opening the seven doors in his castle to show her their bloody secrets. The only performers are Norman Foster
Norman Foster (bass)
Norman Foster was an American operatic bass-baritone, a film and television actor and a television producer.-Recordings:...
as Bluebeard and Ana Raquel Satre
Ana Raquel Satre
Ana Raquel Satre was an operatic soprano, who was married to Patrick Bashford and was nicknamed 'Mimi'.-Biography:Satre was born in Uruguay and studied with French soprano Ninon Vallin at the Conservatorio Nacional in Montevideo. Her first success came at an early age when she was chosen to sing...
as Judit, his fourth wife, accompanied by the Zagreb Symphony Orchestra conducted by Milan Horvath. It is sung in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
although prints exist with English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
subtitles. A recent print was made which included Powell's notes on the production, displayed as subtitles.
Bartók's opera, which did not receive its first mounting until 1918
1918 in music
-Events:* March 3 - Béla Bartók's String Quartet No. 2 is premiered in Budapest* May 24 - Béla Bartók's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle is premiered in Budapest.*April 30/May 1 - Toivo Kuula is mortally wounded in the Finnish Civil War....
, was widely regarded as "unperformable" due to its lack of stage action. Powell and Heckroth turn this quality to their advantage by creating an intense, expressionist psychodrama, where lighting and abstract décor convey the gradual revelation of Bluebeard's inner torment to his last wife. The vivid colours and semi-abstract, neo-primitive décor designed by Heckroth and his team give the film a suitably oppressive feel.
After the trauma of Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom (film)
Peeping Tom is a 1960 British psychological thriller directed by Michael Powell and written by the World War II cryptographer and polymath Leo Marks. The title derives from the slang expression 'peeping Tom' describing a voyeur...
s reception, Powell succeeded with a musical project that is the equal of anything in his career. Herzog Blaubarts Burg stands as a final proof of The Archers
The Archers
The Archers is a long-running British soap opera broadcast on the BBC's main spoken-word channel, Radio 4. It was originally billed as "an everyday story of country folk", but is now described on its Radio 4 web site as "contemporary drama in a rural setting"...
' and Powell's claim that the essential unity of art can best be realized in cinema.
External links
- Herzog Blaubarts Burg reviews and articles at the Powell & Pressburger Pages