Herzog Blaubarts Burg (1963)

This two-person play is about the legend of Bluebeard, a duke who sooner or later kills every woman he brings to live with him. Judith has followed the duke to his gloomy, musty castle and, despite his terrible reputation, is determined to stay with him. For his sake, she has left her parents, her brother, and her fiancé. She submits to the master of the castle without question. Bluebeard is only too happy to take up with the stranger and gives her the keys to hidden chambers. Behind the first door, to her horror, Judith discovers Bluebeard’s torture chamber, with bloodied walls and instruments of torture. Behind another door is Bluebeard’s armory, with bloodstained weapons of murder. Shaken by the first two chambers, she uses the third key to open a door leading to a treasure chamber filled with gold and precious stones. Bluebeard allows Judith to help herself freely. She chooses jewels, a crown, and a magnificent cloak. But here, too, she notices bloodstains. Uneasy, she opens the fourth door, behind which lies the castle’s “hidden garden,” with enormous flowers. But appearances are deceptive here as well: the rose stems and the earth are once again covered in blood. Behind the fifth door, Judith discovers the duke’s vast lands, with forests, rivers, and mountains. However, a cloud casting bloody shadows greatly unsettles her. The castle interior is now brightly lit. Bluebeard warns Judith not to try to pass through the last two doors, but she insists on opening them as well. Behind the sixth door, a silent lake of tears appears. When Bluebeard tries to keep at least the last door closed, Judith clings to him imploringly. Bluebeard embraces and kisses her. With a dark foreboding, Judith asks him about his former lovers. She insists on opening the seventh door too, and eventually gets the key. As she slowly walks to the door and opens it, the fifth and sixth doors slam shut. It grows dark again. Silver moonlight streams in through the seventh door, illuminating their faces. Bluebeard’s three former wives emerge, adorned with crowns and jewels, as embodiments of the times of day: morning, noon, and evening. Bluebeard drapes Judith in the crown, jewels, and cloak from the treasure chamber. As Night, she must take her place beside her predecessors and follow them through the seventh door. Bluebeard is left behind in the castle, which has grown dark again.