The Transient Beauty of Life, Painted In Dark Orchestral Colors
The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and its chief conductor Karina Canellakis continue their Bartók journey with the composer’s only opera, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, starring mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham (Judith) and bass-baritone Gábor Bretz (Bluebeard). One man, one woman, and a dark castle with seven mysterious doors are all it takes to create a psychological thriller full of suspense and intense emotion.
Karina Canellakis and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra received a Grammy nomination for their recording of Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and 4 Orchestral Pieces, which BBC Music Magazine praised as “enticing and brilliantly engineered”, while Gramophone lauded how orchestra and conductor “paint the soundscapes with both finesse and fire.” For Canellakis, Bartók’s opera recorded here is “an homage to life itself, to life’s brevity and fleeting beauty, to being human, to love, and to death.”
Internationally acclaimed for her emotionally charged performances, technical command and interpretive depth, Karina Canellakis has become one of the most in- demand conductors of her generation. She returns to Pentatone as Chief Conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra continuing their Bartók cycle that began with the aforementioned Concerto for Orchestra in 2023. Rinat Shaham and Gabor Bretz are sought after by the world’s greatest opera houses and have long- standing experience performing Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle with various orchestras and conductors around the world.
Gábor Bretz, Bass-Baritone (Duke Bluebeard)
Rinat Shaham, Mezzo-Soprano (Judith)
Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Karina Canellakis, Conductor
Tracklist
Please note that the below previews are loaded as 44.1 kHz / 16 bit.Total time: 01:01:48
Additional information
| Label | |
|---|---|
| SKU | PTC5187225 |
| Qualities | |
| Channels | |
| Artists | Gabor Bretz, Karina Canellakis, Members of Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Rinat Shaham |
| Composers | |
| Genres | |
| Conductors | |
| Original Recording Format | |
| Instruments | Bass-baritone vocal, opera vocals, Vocal mezzo-soprano, Orchestra |
| Release Date | April 3, 2025 |
Press reviews
Positive Feedback
Karina Canellakis brings us a dazzling new performance of Bartók’s “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle.”
Mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham as Judith and bass-baritone Gabor Bretz as Duke Bluebeard fully inhabit their roles, bringing exceptional degrees of emotional drama and character. They create the suspense and intense emotion needed to pull off this work.
The recording is brilliantly engineered—with Bretz and Shaham given exceptional clarity, while balanced nicely in the same acoustic space as the orchestra. Pentatone’s recording and balance engineer, Everett Porter, nicely avoids the plague of disembodied voices disconnected from the orchestra. Instead, we have an excellent and natural sound stage evoking the sense of the live performance.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.