London Symphony Orchestra

BelaBartok transmuted the haunting peasant melodies of his native Hungary into powerful modern music even as heplayed songcatcher, recording fast fading sonic traditions from Eastern Europeand places as distant as Turkeyand Egypt.He composed only one opera, a one-act Expressionist drama called Bluebeard’s Castle.

Themoody work is not among the most performed in the operatic repertoire, butdeserves to be heard more often. (The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under Edo deWaart will perform Bluebeard’s CastleOct. 30-31.) Based on the old tale of the serial killer husband, it’s atwo-person production, the title character and his current wife, Judith, whoslowly, hidden chamber by hidden chamber, descends into the psychologicalunderworld hidden behind a respectable, aristocratic facade.

Arecent performance by the London Symphony Orchestra under Valery Gergievcaptures the tortured essence of this often overlooked gem. Sir Wallace Whiteplays the evil husband in bass-baritone, his low tone grounding the soaringmezzo-soprano of Elena Zhidkova as Judith. It’s a horror show withappropriately tense music, exploding from quiet foreboding as Judith proceedstoward the awful truth.