Gothic Mystery Comes Alive in Bold City Opera’s Riveting 'Bluebeard’s Castle'

Bold City Opera’s production of Bluebeard's Castle is a feat of minimalism that feels grand in its design and powerful in its performance. With innovative staging in an octagonal church — uncannily echoing the shape of Bluebeard’s castle itself — the production brings an air of eeriness that enriched the audience’s sense of entrapment and mystery. Directed with attention to both intimate detail and operatic scale, the show unfolds in a space that melds seamlessly with the story’s Gothic tone.

Musically, Bluebeard’s Castle usually demands a full orchestration to carry its dark themes, yet Brandon Michael Smith and Timothy Tuller reimagine the score with a smaller ensemble, resulting in a sound that retains immense depth without overwhelming the intimate setting. The vibrant arrangement of the remarkably sparse instrumentation leaves no gaps, filling the space with vital energy and emphasizing emotional layers without sacrificing the story’s intensity. The famed organ score punctuates pivotal scenes with such resonance that it feels like a character in its own right, driving home the tragedy of Bluebeard’s past with each ominous chord.

Victoria Isernia as Judith delivers a masterful performance. From the first moment, she brings a mix of vulnerability and tenacity, balanced by the sheer power of her voice. She projects with impressive clarity, never sacrificing enunciation even at her most impassioned moments. Her demand for Bluebeard to open door after door is one of the performance’s most memorable moments; she does so with a fierce conviction that electrifies the space. Isernia’s Judith is a character who evolves from innocence to understanding, and her journey is both captivating and heartbreaking.

John Tibbetts brings complexity to Duke Bluebeard, playing him as more haunted than haunting. His vocal delivery is powerful but restrained, avoiding melodrama in favor of a brooding, mysterious presence that hints at a man as trapped as he is frightening. Tibbetts’ ability to show vulnerability amid the dread-filled pauses lends the character an unexpected humanity, grounding the story’s horrors in emotional realism. Though Tibbetts relies on his score slightly more than Isernia, his grounded performance never feels disrupted by this. He maintains a mysterious presence, veiled and withholding, which adds to the character’s complex and dark allure.

Together, Tibbetts and Isernia craft a chemistry that feels enigmatic yet tragically doomed, their voices intertwining in ways that capture both the wonder and horror of Judith’s journey. While neither lead is completely off-book, their subtle returns to the script never distract from their characters. Instead, they lends the performance an intimate, almost organic quality, as if Bluebeard and Judith’s tale are being unearthed from within the walls of the church itself.

Visually, Bluebeard’s Castle strikes a balance between opulence and simplicity. Bluebeard cuts a formidable figure, his tuxedo adorned with silver flourishes on the lapel and vest, suggesting both wealth and a dark elegance that foreshadows his character’s chilling secrets. In contrast, Judith appears striking yet unpretentiously dressed in a comfortable, soft wedding gown. Its cottony, understatedly embellished appearance lends Judith an air of innocence and earthiness — ironic armor for her emotional journey through Bluebeard’s labyrinth. This seemingly effortless costuming choice aligns her visually with the audience, grounding her in reality while the story’s fantastical elements spiral around her.

The staging in Bold City’s production is both immersive and functional, using portions of the octagonal church’s space to establish Bluebeard’s elusive and symbolic castle. Judith’s urgent exploration of the castle feels amplified by the church’s octagonal design, as if each door she opens brings her closer to something unspeakable at the heart of the labyrinth. The production uses this unconventional setting elegantly, with Judith’s demands for Bluebeard to open each door resonating through the venue. Her fierce command grows with each scene, and her voice fills every corner, vibrating through the space with an emotional intensity that leaves many breathless.

Lighting design is crucial in transforming an opera house (or in this case, a church) into a castle, and here, Bold City Opera does not disappoint. The lighting is beautifully subtle yet powerfully symbolic, bathing the space in a palette of color that underscores the story’s ominous and dual-toned themes of life and death, curiosity and terror. The lighting design brilliantly captures the foreboding of Bluebeard’s castle, using darkness and dim, slanted light to create an air of inescapability. The seven rooms are subtly hinted at rather than explicitly shown, allowing the audience’s imagination to fill in the grisly details. This minimalist approach is highly effective, forcing the viewer’s attention onto the performers and their reactions rather than overt horror. This deceptively simple lighting design adds an impressive dimensionality to the scene changes.

One of the production’s most inspired choices is its handling of the other brides, played by Rebecca Andrews, Afrika Wood and Christine Gosh. Rather than relegating these characters to mere symbols, the staging has them appear as a ghostly bridal procession with original masks created by local artist Kevin Mierez Galo. This choice creates a poignant visual that underscores Bluebeard’s dark past while drawing Judith’s fate inexorably closer. This procession adds a chilling layer to the story, a reminder of the lives swallowed by Bluebeard’s secrets, and injects a hauntingly poetic sense of tragedy.

This production of Bluebeard’s Castle may not have gone for high-budget spectacle, but its choices — from costume to lighting, music to movement — imbue the opera with an enthralling emotional weight. The result is a production that feels both timeless and immediate, a darkly elegant journey into the heart of a Gothic mystery.

Bluebeard's Castle runs Friday, October 25 through Saturday, October 26 at Riverside Church at Park and King.

For more information, full cast and crew credits and links to tickets, visit the Bluebeard's Castle page here on JaxPlays.