Page 90 - FINAL_Theatre of Sound Coverage Book

6 November 2021

Bluebeard’s Castle

LONDON
Theatre of Sound at Stone Nest

Susan Bullock and Gerald Finley in Theatre of Sound's Bluebeard's Castle
© Micaela Bodlovic

BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE, Bartók’s only opera, is short—about an hour in length—but requires large-scale
orchestral forces: the composer asks for an ideal complement of nearly 100 players. A much smaller instrumental
group was fielded for a chamber production performed by a company called Theatre of Sound at Stone Nest, a
former Welsh nonconformist chapel in Shaftesbury Avenue in the center of London’s West End of London (seen
Nov. 6).

Founded and led by conductor Stephen Higgins (who arranged the score for six hand-chosen players from the
expert contemporary-music-specialist London Sinfonietta) and director Daisy Evans (best known for her Silent
Opera initiative), the company, according to its website, “brings immersive storytelling through drama, music and
electronics all in a singular experience […] We create a 360 experience through sound, spoken word and design,
placing you at the heart of a production.”

The audience of some 200 people, seated on two levels, was placed on three sides of the central performance
space, with the orchestra and conductor behind the spectators. Alternating in mix-and-match casts, four singers
took part: the pairing I saw consisted of dramatic soprano Susan Bullock and baritone Gerald Finley. Though the
former is clearly towards the end of her extensive career, both did well in realizing their demanding vocal lines