May 21, 2012 | WDC: 68 °F
July 18, 2009, 1:00 pm
Composer: Bela Bartok
Conductor: Giovanni Reggioli
Cast: Samuel Ramey (Duke Bluebeard); Denyce Graves (Judith)
 Samuel Ramey stars in both halves of an engaging double bill, presenting two very different approaches to the mysteries of death. In Bluebeard's Castle, a slow terror unfolds as a woman (Denyce Graves) gradually realizes that the new man in her life will soon threaten her very existence. In Gianni Schicchi, Puccini virtuosically employs an ensemble cast in the story of the wily title character, who exploits everyone else's greed towards his own ends.