Bluebeard's Castle (2021)

“A surreal, vibrant, visually loaded journey through our fantasies and nightmares...”

Bluebeard is unravelling. He's losing perspective, and questioning his sense of self. As each door in his castle is opened, a new aspect of his tortured soul is revealed - until at last, we see what the seventh door is hiding...

Join Gothic Opera for this unique multi-disciplinary interpretation of BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE, which explores what is real and unreal, and the idea of finding or losing ourselves. Created by director Julia Mintzer and choreographer Carmine de Amicis, with a brand new arrangement by Leon Haxby. Conducted by Thomas Payne.

Sung in Hungarian with English surtitles.

Read Julia Mintzer's programme note here.

Cast:

Simon Wilding

Alexandra Long

Charlotte Osborn

Alice Usher

Katherine MacRae

Carmine de Amicis

Orchestra:

Thomas Ang - Organ

The Halcyon Quartet:

Millie Ashton - Violin I

Leidy Sinclair - Violin II

Nathalie Green-Buckley - Viola

HeeYeon Cho - Violoncello

Animators (Ravensbourne University):

Virginia Anyaele

Klaudia Grabczak

Dev Bye-A-Jee

Vincent Sautter

Tony Tyler

Oliver O'Keefe

Stage Director: Julia Mintzer

Musical Director/Conductor: Thomas Payne

Choreographer, Associate Director: Carmine de Amicis

Set and Costume Designer: Charles Ogilvie

Lighting and Sound Designer: Will Alder

Arranger: Leon Haxby

Animation Supervisor: Dev Bye-A-Jee

Make-up Artist: Ian Massa-Harris

Production Manager: Ryan Nicholls

Stage Manager, Assistant Director: Ben Anderson

Assistant Conductor: Herman Ringer

Répétiteur: Thomas Ang

Production Assistant: Tilly Penn

Poster Designer: Max Dabbs

Artistic Director: Béatrice de Larragoïti

Co-Producers: Alice Usher and Charlotte Osborn

Click here to watch our online snapshot version which was streamed by the Neverthere @ Surge festival, 4 July 2020.

Gothic Opera's Bluebeard's Castle is a collaboration with the Digital Animation department of Ravensbourne University London. A group of students were inspired by the rooms in Bluebeard's castle to create animations which will be seen in the live performances.

Here, supervisor Dev Bye-A-Jee discusses the process of working on these animations.

You can see a selection of the students' work below, with soundtracks by Will Alder. Watch with sound on!

The Torture Chamber - animation by Ugne Sniaukaite

The Armoury - animation by Klaudia Grabczak

The Garden - animation by Vincent Sautter

The Heart Room - animation by Virginia Anyaele