The Welsh National Opera is presenting a double bill featuring Bartók’s *Bluebeard’s Castle* and Stravinsky’s *Oedipus Rex* at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, running through October 2 before touring until late November. Though composed within a decade of each other in the early 20th century, the two operas exhibit strikingly different musical styles. Bartók’s *Bluebeard’s Castle* is characterized by a moody, lush, and atmospherically sinister sound, while Stravinsky’s *Oedipus Rex* adopts an almost anti-expressive approach, featuring hard timbres and ritualistic refrains.

Both operas explore the theme of a man’s facade of power collapsing to reveal dark and troubling truths beneath. In this production, director Joe Hill-Gibbins draws on his 2024 staging of *Bluebeard’s Castle* for English National Opera but expands the concept by opening the performance in total darkness with a female chorus singing two mystical monodies by the 12th-century abbess Hildegard of Bingen. The inclusion of this medieval music, which shares ancient folk modes with both Bartók and Stravinsky, adds an austere and contemplative layer to the drama; it also draws a parallel between nuns—locked away in their cloisters—and Bluebeard’s imprisoned wives.

The staging, designed by Milla Clarke, is predominantly minimalist and symbolic, revolving around a long white table that gradually becomes laden with traditional wedding banquet elements such as red wine, cutlery, confetti, and bouquets. These motifs acquire sinister overtones as the narrative unfolds. Lighting by Jack Knowles punctuates key moments with striking effects, notably a gold-tinted illumination timed with Bluebeard’s revelation of his domain.

The same table and chairs are used in *Oedipus Rex*, but occupied by the men's chorus, whose powerful, razor-sharp delivery of Stravinsky’s choruses animates the ritualistic drama. The male chorus confronts the protagonist, Oedipus, played by tenor Peter Hoare, with intensity and precision. The principal singers also perform dual roles across the operas: Christine Rice portrays the distressed Judith in *Bluebeard* and transforms into the embattled Jocasta in *Oedipus Rex*, while bass-baritone Nathan Berg appears as both the psychologically complex Bluebeard and the prophet Tiresias. A single narrator, LJ Parkinson, serves as a sardonic master of ceremonies, linking both works with a smirking presence reminiscent of a cabaret host.

Conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya, the Welsh National Opera orchestra delivers a performance that balances delicacy and power. Their playing is measured to ensure vocal lines are never overwhelmed, capturing the dark brooding tension of *Bluebeard* and the stark, abrasive energy of *Oedipus Rex*.

This double bill highlights the contrasting yet complementary artistic languages of two early 20th-century operas, united under a conceptually rich and theatrically inventive production that has been met with strong critical acclaim.