Munich Philharmonic: Fauré / Bartókfeaturing Elīna Garanča (mezzo-soprano) & Christian Van Horn (baritone), conducted by Lahav Shani
Elīna Garanča as Judith and Christian Van Horn as Duke Bluebeard, portray the inner psychological drama of dark menace and deceptive splendour.
Elīna Garanča as Judith and Christian Van Horn as Duke Bluebeard, portray the inner psychological drama of dark menace and deceptive splendour.
Two tales brimming with secrets and allusion: in both Maurice Maeterlinck’s romantic tragedy Pelléas et Mélisande and the fairy tale of the cruel Duke with the blue beard, things are left unsaid, leaving the imagination a vast space to fill with unsettling imagery. Gabriel Fauré’s music for Pelléas et Mélisande creates a bright atmosphere in which floaty, flowing sounds take precedence over clearly defined gestures. The famous Sicilienne with its sweeping melody, which the composer added later, is an excellent fit here.
Béla Bartók’s musical language in Bluebeard’s Castle, by contrast, is restrained and focused, like an icy gust of wind sweeping through the eerie castle.
With
- Conductor: Lahav Shani
- Mezzo-soprano: Elīna Garanča
- Baritone: Christian Van Horn
- Munich Philharmonic
Programme
- Gabriel Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande, orchestral suite from the incidental music, Op 80
- Béla Bartók: Bluebeard’s Castle, opera in one act, Op 11
