Basing his libretto for Bluebeard’s Castle on the French folk tale about a rich nobleman who murders his multiple wives, poet Béla Balázs described it as a ‘ballad of inner life’. The only opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, its psychological symbolism draws parallels between the titular duke and the composer himself, who bizarrely dedicated the piece to his 16-year-old bride.

The narrative usually unfolds with Bluebeard’s new young wife, Judith, opening a series of locked doors until the final one reveals the living corpses of her three predecessors, whom she then joins. Exploring their relationship in a very different way, director Daisy Evans retells the story with a new libretto that takes a direction still inspired by an ‘inner life’, but where the dark, deep recesses of Gothic horror are replaced by a loving husband facing the challenges of having a wife with dementia.
‘There is so much love in the music,’ says Evans, ‘and I couldn’t see Bluebeard having such beautiful music if he’s this terrible monster.’  It’s an opera which Evans and her Theatre Of Sound partner, conductor Stephen Higgins, had long wanted to work on together. Their starting point was looking at the four wives as different parts of life: youth, home building, mid-life and later life. The setting is domestic, and instead of doors, Judith opens a locked trunk full of memorabilia from happy times together.

‘Bluebeard is a dad, a grandad, with his tote bag and little anorak,’ Evans explains. ‘Slowly but surely opening doors to memories, he brings his wife back, as we sense that’s what he’s trying to do. She reverts to being a very virginal young bride again. Watching how much he loves her is transformative.’
Originally scored for two singers with a large symphony orchestra, Bartók’s music is now heard in a specially arranged reduced instrumentation by Higgins. ‘We thought about what the sound world could be,’ says Evans, ‘and it’s almost like a gossamer version, but still very full and expressive. It almost feels like the orchestra is part of Judith’s fractured life. It’s very clever in the choice of instrumentation for seven players and, of course, we’ve got an organ.’
Going smaller enables the opera to be staged in a more intimate space than Bluebeard would otherwise be seen. ‘It’s an incredible opportunity for performers to be so close to an audience,’ says Evans, ‘and quite an intense hour in the theatre.’
Bluebeard’s Castle, Church Hill Theatre, 23–27 August, 8pm.