In 1866, when the citizens of Prague were enjoying the first performance of the Bartered Bride, the Parisians were celebrating an entirely different spectacle: Jacques Offenbach and his two authors Meilhac and Halévy had turned the tale of Knight Bluebeard into a merciless satire on the frivolous morals of the Second French Empire. Knight Bluebeard is a promiscuous womanizer who repeatedly tires very soon of his recent wives and makes it a habit to have someone dispose of them one after the other. King Bobêche also makes short work of any man who dares to get too close to his Queen. The assumed murder victims are of course as fresh as a daisy and participate in a grotesque mass wedding at the end of the play. And Bluebeard is on his way towards a stormy marriage: the farmwoman Boulette puts the fear of God into him with her slogans of female emancipation.

In his music, Offenbach deftly juggles the complex mix of pastoral piece and “Grand Opéra“, of sweet, grotesque and erotic scenes. He wrote the perfect score for his Boulotte, Hortense Schneider, played in Graz by Elisabeth Kulman. The Styrian tenor Johannes Chum and the French soprano Sophie Marin-Degor give guest performances in the roles of Barbe-Bleue and Fleurette. Markus Schäfer gets the chance to show his talent for comedy and all the other stars of the 2013 opera production entirely live up to expectations. Nikolaus Harnoncourt plans nothing less than continuing his forays into great music theatre: Following Offenbach’s Grand Duchesse, Bizet’s Carmen, Smetana’s Bride, the Harnoncourt opera programme continues once again in 2013!

• ORF III is broadcasting live/time-displaced Offenbach's „Bluebeard“ at 8:15pm CET

The Cast

The Venue

Venue Details

Helmut-List-Halle