Duke Bluebeard's Castle (Hungarian: A kékszakállú herceg vára, literally The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle) is a one-act Symbolist opera by Béla Bartók to a Hungarian libretto by poet Béla Balázs. Bartók's only opera, it is based on the French folk legend, or conte populaire, as told by Charles Perrault. It lasts about an hour and has two singing characters: Bluebeard (Kékszakállú) and his newest wife, Judith (Judit); the two have just eloped and she is coming home to his castle for the first time.
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