Osiris and Barba Azul

In her programme notes welcoming audiences to the two concerts given by Pierre Boulez as part of the LSO's Great Conductor's series, Kathryn McDowell singles out Bluebeard's Castle as one of "The most powerful operas of the 20th Century" referring to Bluebeard as "sinister" and Judith as "the unfortunate wife" . Nothing very controversial about that -the most common perception being that this is simply a reworking of the old fairytale of the evil Bluebeard and Judith as another innocent and over-inquisitive young bride.And yet Bartok' s view is to blur this distinction between good and evil into something much more ambiguous and ‘much’ more human. It's certainly possible to perceive Judith as the villain of the piece and Bluebeard as the anti-hero whose suffering and torment is painfully unravelled as each door is opened. Indeed Bartok's…