An Evening of Bartók

At the historic Slovak National Theatre yesterday, I saw a one-act ballet Wooden Prince with music by Béla Bartók, followed by his only opera, the one-act Count Bluebeard. A Hungarian, he lived for a time in Bratislava and collected Slovak folk tunes for use in his work. Both of these compositions were created in the early 20th-century at the dawning of modernism. The production values and depth of talent in both productions were just astonishing.

This was my view of the stage from the big center box. It doesn’t get much better. I shared the box with a couple from Vienna who were opera buffs and lovers of Bartók -- and American musicals. A family from Toronto, Canada with three young daughters stayed only for the ballet.

Here’s another view of the boxes in the theatre. Although some on the sides were empty, the main orchestra seating appeared to be sold out.

These long steps lead up to the various levels of the boxes.

This is a view of the lobby taken from the first mezzanine.

I love this theater. Next up in a few weeks are performances of Balanchine's Serenade and the Russian classic Raymonda, works very familiar to me from American productions, so I will get a better sense of the capabilities of this company.

NOTE: Click on any image in this blog to see it full-size.