*Bluebeardʼs Castle*, by Béla Bartók.

Bluebeardʼs Castle opera with the music of Béla Bartók has many things in common with the movie The Swimmer that I talked about days ago. Both pieces of art show us a way, a journey, a travel of allegorical and psychological import. In The Swimmer the protagonist ends up knowing how deep he has fallen, while in Bluebeardʼs Castle we know how deprived of love is the husband whose wife (the fourth one) he has condemend to be imprisoned in his castle. In this latter case, the feeling of doom is more explicit, more scary, and sadder. Power kills joy, and kills love, as Henrik Ibsen knew (cf. John Gabriel Borkman).

 Few operas leave you with this sense of doom in your veins. It is one of those operas which one can recommend to those uninitiated in this magnificent art. Another one is Salome. Another is Vanessa. Needless to say, another opera for those uninitiated is Don Giovanni. Check them out.