BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE and ERWARTUNG to Return to Canadian Opera Company in Double Bill
Christian Van Horn, Karen Cargill, and Anna Gabler lead Bartók and Schoenberg’s psychological one-act operas in Robert Lepage’s production.
The Canadian Opera Company will present a chilling double bill featuring Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Arnold Schoenberg’s Erwartung, returning to the company’s mainstage this spring in a production originally created by acclaimed Canadian director Robert Lepage. The operas run for seven performances at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on April 25, 29 and May 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16, 2026.
In Bartók’s haunting one-act opera Bluebeard’s Castle, a new bride discovers that the seven locked doors in her husband’s mysterious castle conceal stunning—and gruesome—secrets. The evening continues with Schoenberg’s Erwartung, in which a woman searching for her missing lover spirals into a blistering psychological descent. Together, the two works create an intense theatrical experience that explores the darkest corners of desire, dread, and the human psyche.
Two Worlds, One Haunting Stage
François Racine directs the revival of Robert Lepage’s iconic production, using innovative staging and design to seamlessly connect the two operas into a single cohesive experience.
Set and Costume Designer Michael Levine draws inspiration from the richly gilded paintings of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, placing both works within a striking gold-tiled frame that contrasts with the stark walls and shadows of Bluebeard’s castle. Lighting designer Robert Thomson evokes blood-red torture chambers, glittering treasure rooms, and eerie lakes of tears, while media effects designer Laurie-Shawn Bozovoy heightens the production’s surreal atmosphere.
Vocal Brilliance and Orchestral Fire
Bartók’s Symbolist opera unfolds as a tense psychological drama in which love and terror intertwine. With each door Judith opens in Bluebeard’s castle, the orchestra expands into ever more powerful sonic landscapes.
Bass-baritone Christian Van Horn, described by The New York Times as “a bass-baritone of uncommon agility and power,” stars as the enigmatic Duke Bluebeard. He is joined by mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill as Judith, returning to the COC in a role for which The Boston Globe praised her “dramatically savvy and vocally powerful” interpretation. Bartók’s richly atmospheric score blends psychological intensity with Hungarian folk-influenced rhythms.
Paired with Bartók’s dark fairy tale, Schoenberg’s Erwartung offers a gripping monodrama of psychological suspense. The opera stars soprano Anna Gabler in her COC debut as a woman wandering through a shadowed forest in search of her lover. Schoenberg’s modernist score abandons traditional melody in favor of atonality and extreme emotional shifts, creating a feverish soundscape that mirrors the heroine’s fractured mind.
COC Music Director Johannes Debus conducts the COC Orchestra in both works, guiding the ensemble through Bartók’s evocative orchestration and Schoenberg’s groundbreaking musical language.
Bluebeard’s Castle is sung in Hungarian with English and French surtitles.
Erwartung is sung in German with English and French surtitles.
Anna Gabler appears as The Woman. The production is conducted by Johannes Debus, with Simone Luti serving as Assistant Conductor. The original production is directed by Robert Lepage, with François Racine directing the revival and Marilyn Gronsdal as Assistant Director. Set and costume design is by Michael Levine, with associate set and costume design by Charlotte Dean. Lighting design is by Robert Thomson and media effects design is by Laurie-Shawn Bozovoy. Matthew Richardson serves as Fight Coordinator and Greg Carruthers as Intimacy Coordinator. Jenifer Kowal is Stage Manager, with Stephanie Marrs and Jessica Severin as Assistant Stage Managers and Lindsay McDonald as Apprentice Stage Manager. Anne Larlee is Head Coach, Stephen Hargreaves serves as Repetiteur, and Kimly Wang is Ensemble Studio Coach. The production features the COC Orchestra.
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