4tferberger College of Fine Arts ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE OPERA IN ONE ACT, OP. 11 IN CONCERT BY BELA BALAZS MUSIC BY BELA BARTOK ENGLISH VERSION BY WILLIAM REBER DAVEDA KARANAS, MEZZO-SOPRANO YEVGENIY CHAINIKOV, BASS ROBERT MILLS, PIANO WILLIAM REBER, PIANO JACOB HARRISON, CONDUCTOR FACULTY ARTIST RECITAL SERIES KATZIN CONCERT HALL SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2006 • 2:30 PM SYNOPSIS The short spoken dialogue hints that the well-known tale is to be retold as a parable of the inner self; the stage represents 'a vast, circular Gothic Hall' with seven large doors. Bluebeard and Judith appear in the darkened hall. A short orchestral introduction sets the gloomy scene. Judith, who is still in her wedding dress, has married Bluebeard against her family's wishes. She finds his castle cold and dark and the walls ooze moisture. Bluebeard reminds her that she could have married into a 'brighter castle, girt with rose,' but she insists that she will bring brightness to his castle. An orchestral transition clearly supports Bluebeard's denial of this possibility. Judith now notices the seven doors and demands that they be unlocked. She hammers on the first door, and as she does so a deep sigh is heard from behind it `like the wind in a long, low corridor.' As the door swings open to reveal Bluebeard's torture chamber, a blood-red light glares on to the stage. Undeterred, Judith insists on opening the second door. This time Bluebeard's armory is revealed in 'a lurid reddish-yellow light.' Once again the 'blood' motif intrudes, as Judith sees blood on the weapons. But as she presses Bluebeard for the remaining keys, he senses the joy of release from oppressive secrets. He allows her three more keys. The doors open to display first his treasury and then his garden, bathed in a blue-green light. Yet, again, the image of blood returns as Judith sees spots of red on the flowers. Finally, the fifth door opens on to Bluebeard's vast and beautiful domains, portrayed in the grandest and loudest music in the whole work. This is the architectural center of the opera and its climax of light. The mood now returns gradually to the gloom and darkness of the start. Bluebeard tries to distract Judith from the remaining two doors, but she persists. She sees blood even on the lands that for him are radiant with light. Reluctantly he yields the sixth key, and as she turns it in the lock another deep sigh warns of sinister revelations; a shadow passes over the hall. The door conceals a silent lake of tears. Judith now exerts her feminine guile to coax the final key out of Bluebeard. She questions him about his past lovers and suddenly guesses that the blood on his possessions signifies that he has murdered them all. Bluebeard gives her the keg. The seventh door opens (at this point doors five and six swing shut), and his three former wives, richly adorned, process slowly out. The first, he says, he met in the morning, the second at midday, the third in the evening. 'You,' he tells Judith as the three women vanish back through the door, 'I met at night.' He dresses her in the crown, mantle and jewels she herself brought from the treasury (the third door closes as he does so), and she slowly follows the other wives through the seventh door, which closes behind her. 'The darkness of night creeps back across the stage, and engulfs Bluebeard.' PROGRAM Bluebeard's Castle, Op. 11 (1911) Bela Bartok (1881-1945) Judith, Daveda Karanas Bluebeard, Yevgeniy Chainikov Speaker, Jerry Doan Wife #1, Ingrid Israel Wife #2, Susan Hurley Wife #3, Melissa Solomon *************** In respect for the performers and those audience members around you, please turn all beepers, cell phones and watches to their silent mode. Thank you. William Reber, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of ASU's Lyric Opera Theatre, is Professor of Music at Arizona State University. Conductor of the Corpus Christi Ballet since 1986, he has been Music Director/Conductor for more than 100 productions of opera and musical theatre works and has also guest conducted orchestral concerts in the United States and Europe. As an accompanist for vocal and instrumental recitals, he has performed at many national and international venues, including appearances in New York City, Leipzig, Germany, and the Ohrid International Festival and Skopje Summer Festivals in Macedonia. Head of the vocal coaching program for AIMS (American Institute of Musical Studies) in Graz, Austria, Dr. Reber has served as Musical Advisor for the Staatsoperette in Dresden, Germany, Music Director of the Minnesota Opera Studio and Conductor and Vocal Coach with Minnesota Opera. In 1996 and 1998, he was Assistant Conductor for Arizona Opera's production of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen." Before joining ASU's School of Music, he was on the faculties of The University of Texas at Austin, where he was founding conductor of the Chamber Orchestra, conductor of the UT Opera Theatre and Associate Conductor of the Symphony, and California State University, Fullerton, he was Music Director of the Opera and Symphony Orchestra. A native of Oakland, CA, he earned his BMus in Composition and MMus in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Utah. Following a stint in the United States Air Force, during which he served as the Conductor of the 17th Air Force Men's Chorus in Germany, he received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Opera Performance and Conducting from the University of Texas at Austin under the guidance of Walter Ducloux. Dr. Robert Mills is an assistant professor of Music and the vocal coach/accompanist for Arizona State University's Lyric Opera. Mr. Mills holds a BA in Music from the University of Maryland as well as a MM and a DMA in Accompanying from Arizona State University. Additionally, Mr. Mills holds both a Juris Doctor and a Master of Library Science from Brigham Young University. For nearly three years, Dr. Mills served as an assistant vocal coach and accompanist for the Opera Institute at Boston University. Recently, he has joined the American Institute of Musical Studies Summer Program in Graz, Austria as a repetitor/coach. Prior to joining ASU's faculty, he was the coordinator of piano accompanying at Mesa Community College. Mr. Mills has collaborated with vocal artists and technicians such as Ingo Titze, Phyllis Curtain, Andrea Lechner and Patricia Craig in concert, workshop and master class settings. Mr. Mills performs frequently with the Mesa Symphony as well as the Phoenix Bach Choir and the Three Tenors of Mexico. Performance Events Staff Manager Paul W. Estes • • Senior Event Mangers Laura Boone, Xian Meng, Sixto Montesinos Apprentice Event Managers Brady Callum, Ingrid Israel, Kevan Nymeyer THE KATHERINE K. HERBERGER COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS SCHOOL OF MUSIC PO Box 870405, Tempe, AZ 85287-0405 (480) 965-3371 http://music.asu.edu 7006 ASU Herberger College of Fine Arts 0206 EVENTS INFORMATION CALL 480-965-TUNE (480-965-8863)