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Bartók - Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
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Special offer. Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle
RecommendedGábor Bretz (Bluebeard), Rinat Shaham (Judith)
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Karina Canellakis
Gábor Bretz as Bluebeard and Rinat Shaham, his Judith, are magnificent...Karina Canellakis conducts the orchestra as if her life depended on it Philharmonic as if her life depended on it, understanding... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, June 2025, Opera Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2026, Nominated - Opera
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Presto Recordings of the Year, Finalist 2025
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2026, Shortlisted - Opera & Stage
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Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle
RecommendedMika Kares (Bluebeard), Szilvia Vörös (Judith), Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Susanna Mälkki
Both Kares and Vörös offer a subtle, understated approach…As well as conveying the piece’s taut structure and the orchestral writing’s sheer sweep, conductor Susanna Mälkki seeks out the detail... —
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Gramophone Magazine, June 2021, Editor's Choice
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International Classical Music Awards, 2022, Nominated - Opera
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Grammy Awards, 64th Awards (2022), Nominee - Best Opera Recording
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Awards:
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Grammy Awards, 16th Awards (1973), Best Engineered Album, Classical
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Grammy Awards, 16th Awards (1973), Best Orchestral Performance
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Grammy Awards, 16th Awards (1973), Classical Album of the Year
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Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
Sally Burgess (Judith), Sir John Tomlinson (Duke Bluebeard/Minstrel)
Opera North Orchestra, Richard Farnes
This new version… is splendidly recorded, and Farnes coaxes some superb playing from the orchestra. Sally Burgess makes a fine Judith, bringing out the firmness of her love for Bluebeard, as... —
Awards:
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BBC Music Magazine, July 2006, Opera Choice
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Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
RecommendedWalter Berry (Bluebeard), Christa Ludwig (Judith)
London Symphony Orchestra, István Kertész
Kertész shapes the music admirably, and Walter Berry makes an appropriately compassionate Bluebeard (as opposed to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on DG, who is altogether too menacing); but neither... —
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Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
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Presto Favourites, Christa Ludwig - Our Top 10 Recordings
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Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
RecommendedAnne Sofie von Otter, John Tomlinson
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Bernard Haitink's poetic axis is vividly anticipated in the rarely recorded spoken prologue where Sándor Elès bids us search beneath the story's surface. Elès's timing and his sensitivity to... —
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Building a Library, April 2010, First Choice
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Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
RecommendedJessye Norman, László Polgár & Nicholas Simon
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
Awards:
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Grammy Awards, 41st Awards (1998), Best Opera Recording
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Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle
Michelle DeYoung (mezzo), John Relyea (bass)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Gardner
Gardner is extremely good at the ‘big moments’…But Bartok seeks extreme, unspoken reaches of the soul and the Bergen Philharmonic does not always seem to seek them with him…The two singers are... —
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Opera, January 2020, Disc of the Month
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Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
Sir John Tomlinson (Bluebeard), Michelle DeYoung (Judith) & Juliet Stevenson (narrator)
Philharmonia Orchestra & Philharmonia Voices, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Salonen conducts a taut, luxuriant reading that captures the score’s majesty and mystery. John Tomlinson’s Bluebeard makes up in histrionic heft what he has lost in vocal poise, but is overshadowed... —
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Opera, June 2014, Recording of the Month
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Bartók: Duke Bluebeard's Castle, Sz. 48, Op. 11
Christa Ludwig (mezzo), Walter Berry (bass)
London Symphony Orchestra, Istvan Kertesz
