I attended the May 8th, 2026 performance of the Canadian Opera Company‘s (COC) double bill production of Bluebeard’s Castle and Erwartung at the Four Seasons Centre. Bluebeard’s Castle is a ‘Symbolist opera’ by Béla Bartók while Erwartung is monodrama by Arnold Schönberg.

The production is directed by Robert Lepage, with a set by Michael Levine, and the COC Orchestra conducted by the COC’s Music Director, Johannes Debus.

The set is dark and a long hallway. It works well for both operas (although stage right remains dark during Erwartung.) The set doesn’t distract from either opera which is always a good thing in my books.

The production stars: Christian Van Horn as Bluebeard and Karen Cargill (Judith) in Bluebeard’s Castle and Anna Gabler (The Woman) in Erwartung.

I am not personally wild about either opera:

Bluebeard’s Castle does have some nice music, well a lot of nice music, but no tunes in the traditional sense. It’s an opera worth seeing, but not one that I would go out of the way to see.

Erwartung is an opera/monodrama that is literally worth seeing once and that is all. The atonal quality doesn’t appeal to me in the least to begin with, and the story – even for an opera – makes no sense. Is ‘The Woman’ supposed to have killed her lover or not? This production, by Robert Lepage, suggests that she did kill her lover as the production takes place as a flashback while she is clearly supposed to be in an asylum following the murder. However, the way that the opera/monodrama really doesn’t work for me either. I left leaving asking the question: Why did Schönberg bother to write this – there are no tunes, the music isn’t all that appealing (although I have heard far worse), and the story – thanks to having only one character – doesn’t really make too much sense. If it had been filled out (the opera/monodrama only runs 30 minutes) with more characters perhaps it would have made more sense. At least it has kept me thinking for the last two days before writing this review, so that is a good thing (and as I usually find after attending a good production of an opera, I couldn’t go to bed right away at bedtime.)

If you have never experienced either opera, or if – unlike me – you enjoy one or both operas, then I strongly suggest you go just to experience both for yourself. I walked in not expecting to be impressed with either, and left with the sense that, while I am not likely to go out of my way to see with, I enjoyed them overall more than I thought.

My only real objection is the COC’s new policy to have metal detectors at the entrance when you arrive. I arrived early so the procedure wasn’t difficult (although I forgot my metal case for my business cards in my top coat which set off the metal detector – not a big a deal as I just pulled it out and went through again.) The COC claimed in an email that this ‘added security’ was for the ‘safety’ of patrons but it’s really an unnecessary waste of time and (on the part of the COC – which means us through the cost of the ticket) a waste of money spent on implementing this. I question why the COC needs to do this in the first place – I have always felt safe in the (almost) 20 years that the Four Seasons Centre has been open (it turns 20 officially in September 2026.)