The Teatro Real will host the performance of the opera by the impressionist composer, Paul Dukas, after 113 years, on 26 and 31 January and 5, 11, 15 and 20 February 2026, directed by Àlex Ollé, from La Fura dels Baus.
Alongside Ollé, the Israeli conductor, Pinchas Steinberg will be in charge of the musical side. It was premièred in 1907 and is a dark and psychological reinterpretation of the traditional tale of Bluebeard by Charles Perrault. It was composed by Paul Dukas (who also composed The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) with the libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck, who also wrote the text for Pelléas and Mélisande
It tells of how Ariadne is taken to the castle of her husband, Bluebeard, a man who is feared and enigmatic. Once there, she is given seven keys but is told not to use the seventh one However, Ariadne opens all of the doors, including the seventh, in spite of the warnings. Behind the last door, she discovers that Bluebeard’s five previous wives are alive although they are in some kind of daydream. They are like wandering spirits: pale, quiet and obedient and Ariadne tries to awaken them to no avail. Finally, Ariadne understands that she cannot save them unless they want to be saved, so she decides to escape from the castle alone.
It delves into questions like the ability to build one’s own destiny, patriarchal power and the fight for female freedom.
Artistic File:
- Musical Conductor - Pinchas Steinberg
- Stage Director - Àlex Ollé
- Stage Design - Alfons Flores
- Wardrobe - Josep Abril Janer
- Lighting - Urs Schönebaum
- Choirmaster - José Luis Basso
Cast:
- Bluebeard- Gianluca Buratto
- Ariadne - Paula Murrihy
- The Nurse - Silvia Tro Santafé
- Sélysette - Aude Extrémo
- Ygraine - Jaquelina Livieri
- Mélisande - Maria Miró
- Bellangère - Renée Rapier
- An Old Peasant - Luis López Navarro
- Orchestra and Choir - Teatro Real Resident Orchestra and Choir
Programme:
Musical Tale in Three Acts
- Music - Paul Dukas (1865-1935)
- Libretto - Maurice Maeterlinck, based on the tale of Bluebeard (1697) by Charles Perrault
- Teatro Real production in co-production with the Lyon National Opera
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