In this Metropolitan Opera double bill, Iolanta and Bluebeard’s Castle are set in a similar physical environment inspired by 1940s film noir.
Matthew Polenzani as Vaudémont and Sonya Yoncheva as Iolanta Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera Season: Iolanta & Bluebeard's Castle
TCHAIKOVSKY: Iolanta
BARTOK: Bluebeard's Castle
Casts:
Sonya Yoncheva (Iolanta), Matthew Polenzani (Count Gottfried), Alexey Markov (Robert, Duke of Burgundy), Elchin Azizov (Ibn-Hakia), Vitalij Kowaljow (René, King of Provence), Angela Denoke (Judith), Gerald Finley (Bluebeard), Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra/Henrik Nánási
Iolanta, Tchaikovsky’s final opera was commissioned by St. Petersburg’s Imperial Theatres as part of a double bill with a new ballet—which became The Nutcracker. Although Iolanta, unlike its companion piece, has remained relatively unknown outside of Russia, it is prime operatic Tchaikovsky and overdue for discovery by the world at large.
Vitalij Kowaljow as René and Sonya Yoncheva as Iolanta Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
The score of Iolanta contains a wealth of instantly recognizable Tchaikovskian melody, beginning with the opening scene and the title character’s first solo. Reflecting the story’s subject matter of blindness and vision, one of the score’s most instantly notable features is its highly sophisticated use of colors in both the orchestral and the vocal writing.
Synopses of Iolanta & Bluebeard's Castle
Bluebeard’s Castle is Bartók’s only opera and is an intense psychological journey, a powerful drama of inner emotion, and a tour de force for two singers (and the orchestra). In it, the bride Judith prods Bluebeard to open seven doors, each of which reveals an aspect of Bluebeard’s life, material possessions, and, by extension, his mind.
Gerald Finley as Bluebeard and Angela Denoke as Judith Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
Musicologists delight in analysing the score of Bluebeard’s Castle, but the opera is remarkable for its ability to make a direct and powerful impression on anyone. The music is closely linked to the Hungarian text and yet gives it an acoustic power that transcends the strictly syntactic meaning.
Angela Denoke as Judith and Gerald Finley as Bluebeard Photo: Marty Sohl/The Metropolitan Opera
