Who is Bluebeard? In French folklore, he’s a nobleman who murders his wives. In Bartok’s opera, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, he’s still that psychologically flawed character, but its symbolism can be interpreted in different ways. And then, who is Judith? His young bride, is she innocence personified in the darkness of her new husband’s castle and its locked doors, the last of which she shouldn’t open as it reveals his previous wives’ corpses?

Turning all of that on its head, Theatre Of Sound’s version (directed by Daisy Evans), premiered in London in 2021 and fits nicely into Edinburgh’s Church Hill Theatre, presenting Bluebeard as a tender-hearted, loving husband, caring as best as he humanly can for his demented wife in the final years of a long and happy marriage. In a different kind of harrowing Bluebeard’s Castle, a suitcase full of memories becomes the doors, each memory it contains representing a stage of their lives together.

As Judith and Bluebeard, soprano Susan Bullock and bass Lester Lynch are superb, both as actors and singers. Playing conductor Stephen Higgins’ reduced score, Hebrides Ensemble aren’t, of course, the same as Bartok’s full orchestra. But, in common with this new take on a familiar story, they give us much to think about.

Bluebeard’s Castle, Church Hill Theatre, until 27 August, 8pm.