‘Bluebeard’s Castle/Four Songs’ – Music by Béla Bartók, Libretto by Béla Balázs, Arranged by Eberhard Kloke/Music by Alma Mahler, Arranged by Julian Reynolds. Music Director – David Angus, Stage Director – Anne Bogart; Set Designer – Sara Brown; Costume Designer – Trevor Bowen; Lighting Designer – Brian H. Scott. Presented by Boston Lyric Opera at The Terminal @ Flynn Cruiseport, 1 Black Falcon Ave., Boston through March 26.

By Shelley A. Sackett

There needs to be a new term coined for BLO’s current production (and all too brief run) of ‘Bluebeard’s Castle/Four Songs.’ “Opera” just doesn’t begin to describe the multi-sensorial experience provided by this inventive, exciting and unique installation event.

For starters, the venue itself is a star. Through sheer brilliance, the Flynn Cruiseport terminal is transformed into pre-show performance spaces that reflect stage and set designers Anne Bogart and Sara Brown’s desire to explore “how spaces can be gendered.” In the “feminine salon,” costumed and bejewel-masked actresses mingle with early arrivals while Yukiko Oba plays an elegant Liberace-worthy piano. In the “masculine” VIP lounge, VIPs enjoy their cocktails in a traditional gentleman’s club.

Read more “BLO’s ‘Bluebeard’s Castle/Four Songs’ Is A Knockout!”