Opera

Béla Bartók

The Miraculous Mandarin / Bluebeard's Castle

02 Nov, 25 - 12 Nov, 25

Premiere at Teatro Real

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Musical conductor
Gustavo Gimeno

Stage direction
Christof Loy

Chorus and Orchestra
Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real

A double bill featuring the Teatro Real premieres of two works by Béla Bartók. Stage director Christof Loy returns after his Eugene Onegin and Arabella, among other successes, to explore the dark fairy world of this Hungarian composer, bringing together two of his key works and emphasising the connection between them: the power of true, infinite love.

The miraculous Mandarin

One act pantomime ballet, Op. 19, Sz. 73

After Menyhért Lengyel’s story (1917)

Music by Béla Bartók (1881-1945)

Bluebeard's castle

Opera in one act

Libretto by Béla Balázs, after a Charles Perrault’s fairy-tale La Barbe bleu (1697)

Music by Béla Bartók

Premiered at Oper Köln on 27 November 1926 (The Miraculous Mandarin) and at Royal Budapest Opera on 24 May 1918 (Bluebeard’s Castle)

Production by Teatro Real, in co-production with Theater Basel

Artistic team

Conductor: Gustavo Gimeno

Director and choreography: Christof Loy

Set design: Márton Ágh

Costume design: Barbara Drosihn

Lighting design: Thomas Kleinstück

Chorus design: José Luis Basso

Cast

The miraculous Mandarin

Mandarin: Gorka Culebras

The girl: Carla Pérez Mora

First tramp: Nicky van Cleef

Second tramp: Jarosław Kruczek

Third tramp: Joni Österlund

First libertine: Nicolas Franciscus

Second libertine: Mário Branco

Bluebeard's castle

Duke Bluebeard: Christoph Fischesser

Judit: Evelyn Herlitzius

Prologue: Nicolas Franciscus

Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real

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Synopsis and more information

The Miraculous Mandarin

Three criminals use a beautiful young woman to seduce and attract men so they can attack and rob them. The first turns out to be poor, as does the second. The third, though, is a Mandarin who seems like a good catch. But when he falls into the trap, no act of violence can do away with him, and his desire for the girl keeps him alive even after he is stabbed. Only when the young woman fulfils his wish and gives him her love does the Mandarin finally die in her arms.

Bluebeard's Castle

Driven by love and curiosity, Judith follows Bluebeard to his castle, where she discovers seven locked doors. As she opens them, each reveals an aspect of Bluebeard's soul: a torture chamber, an armoury, a treasure, a garden, a vast kingdom, and a lake of tears. When she reaches the seventh door, the truth about her beloved is revealed: behind it lie Bluebeard's previous wives, condemned to live in eternal darkness. Judith, trapped by her fate and her desire for redemption, joins them while Bluebeard is left alone in the darkness, resigned to his perpetual loneliness.

Cast

El mandarín Gorka Culebras

La chica Carla Pérez Mora

Primer vagabundo Nicky van Cleef

Segundo vagabundo Jarosław Kruczek

Tercer vagabundo Joni Österlund

Primer libertino Nicolas Franciscus

Segundo libertino Mário Branco

El duque Barbazul Christof Fischesser

Judit Evelyn Herlitzius

El prólogo Nicolas Franciscus

Performances

Date/hour
Space
Cast
Subscription ticket

02 November 2025

18:00

Main Auditorium