THE WOODEN PRINCE /
BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE
In Brief
Synopsis
The Wooden Prince
Standing on two adjacent hillocks are a pair of pretty castles belonging to the Prince and Princess: these are surrounded by a lush natural setting ruled over by the Fairy Witch. One beautiful morning, the Princess steps out of her castle to play, free from care. The Prince also leaves his castle to go out wandering. To prevent the two young people from meeting, the Fairy Witch orders the Princess to return to her castle, but the Prince sees her and falls in love with her at first sight. He attempts to get closer to his quarry, but the forest moves at the Fairy Witch’s command, and trees block his path. The prince finds his way through the thicket, so the Fairy Witch causes the waters to rise. The flow of the stream tears off his royal regalia and overpowers the Prince. As a consolation, the Fairy Witch carves a wooden copy of the boy and adorns it with his cloak and crown. The strange figure appeals to the Princess, upon whose arrival the Prince emerges from his grave amidst the waves to run to his chosen one.
The Fairy Witch performs her magic again, and her powers brings the Wooden Prince to life. It immediately launches into a grotesque dance, which succeeds in drawing the attention of the Princess. She joins the strange figure in his dance, and then she takes it back into her castle. The Prince watches the triumph of the Wooden Prince in sadness.
In his sorrow, the Prince finds solace in nature. The Fairy Witch crowns him king of the forest and orders the forces of nature to submit to him. Thus, the Princess is now more attracted to him especially as the power of the Wooden Prince is waning.
This time, the real Prince turns away from the Princess, and the forest and the magic of the Fairy Witch stand in her way. Unable to penetrate the thicket of trees, the Princess throws away her royal ornaments in shame and cuts her hair. The Prince and nature are finally reconciled, and the young people find each other. In the closing image of fulfilment, their happy duo is surrounded by the now quiet, protective nature.
Bluebeard's Castle
The protagonists of Béla Bartók and Béla Balázs’s symbolist opera are Bluebeard and his wife, Judith, who has left her family and her betrothed in order to follow her love. However, Bluebeard’s castle – that is, his soul – contains seven closed doors. Judith persuades her husband to open them, one after the other.
Behind the first door is the torture chamber, while the second leads to the armoury. Still unsatisfied, Judith wants to open the other doors in order to fill her beloved’s castle with light. Bluebeard gives her three more keys: the third is for the treasury, the fourth opens the door to the hidden garden. The treasure and the flowers, nevertheless, are bloody.
At her husband’s bidding, Judith also opens the fifth door, where Bluebeard’s realm shines with brilliant light. The clouds, however, cast dark shadows. Judith now wishes to look behind the “innermost” doors, but she asks Bluebeard in vain: she must not ask, but instead simply love him. Judith receives the sixth key, which opens the door to the lake of tears. From behind the final door emerge the three former wives. All goes dark.
Standing on two adjacent hillocks are a pair of pretty castles belonging to the Prince and Princess: these are surrounded by a lush natural setting ruled over by the Fairy Witch. One beautiful morning, the Princess steps out of her castle to play, free from care. The Prince also leaves his castle to go out wandering. To prevent the two young people from meeting, the Fairy Witch orders the Princess to return to her castle, but the Prince sees her and falls in love with her at first sight. He attempts to get closer to his quarry, but the forest moves at the Fairy Witch’s command, and trees block his path. The prince finds his way through the thicket, so the Fairy Witch causes the waters to rise. The flow of the stream tears off his royal regalia and overpowers the Prince. As a consolation, the Fairy Witch carves a wooden copy of the boy and adorns it with his cloak and crown. The strange figure appeals to the Princess, upon whose arrival the Prince emerges from his grave amidst the waves to run to his chosen one.
The Fairy Witch performs her magic again, and her powers brings the Wooden Prince to life. It immediately launches into a grotesque dance, which succeeds in drawing the attention of the Princess. She joins the strange figure in his dance, and then she takes it back into her castle. The Prince watches the triumph of the Wooden Prince in sadness.
In his sorrow, the Prince finds solace in nature. The Fairy Witch crowns him king of the forest and orders the forces of nature to submit to him. Thus, the Princess is now more attracted to him especially as the power of the Wooden Prince is waning.
This time, the real Prince turns away from the Princess, and the forest and the magic of the Fairy Witch stand in her way. Unable to penetrate the thicket of trees, the Princess throws away her royal ornaments in shame and cuts her hair. The Prince and nature are finally reconciled, and the young people find each other. In the closing image of fulfilment, their happy duo is surrounded by the now quiet, protective nature.
Bluebeard's Castle
The protagonists of Béla Bartók and Béla Balázs’s symbolist opera are Bluebeard and his wife, Judith, who has left her family and her betrothed in order to follow her love. However, Bluebeard’s castle – that is, his soul – contains seven closed doors. Judith persuades her husband to open them, one after the other.
Behind the first door is the torture chamber, while the second leads to the armoury. Still unsatisfied, Judith wants to open the other doors in order to fill her beloved’s castle with light. Bluebeard gives her three more keys: the third is for the treasury, the fourth opens the door to the hidden garden. The treasure and the flowers, nevertheless, are bloody.
At her husband’s bidding, Judith also opens the fifth door, where Bluebeard’s realm shines with brilliant light. The clouds, however, cast dark shadows. Judith now wishes to look behind the “innermost” doors, but she asks Bluebeard in vain: she must not ask, but instead simply love him. Judith receives the sixth key, which opens the door to the lake of tears. From behind the final door emerge the three former wives. All goes dark.
