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Bartók Premiere at the Washington National Opera September 16, 2006 The Washington National Opera premiered Béla Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's
Castle at the Kennedy Center on Saturday, September 16. The Opening Night
and the Gala Dinner following it was co-sponsored by the Embassy of Hungary
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution and to celebrate
the 125th anniversary of Bartók's birth At the Gala Dinner, Ambassador András Simonyi greeted the participants.
He underlined the significance of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution in
triggering changes in Central and Eastern Europe that eventually led to the
region's democratic transition. Placído Domingo, the Artistic Director of the Washington Opera,
introduced the cast of Bluebeard's Castle, and of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi,
premiered on the same night. In Bluebeard's Castle, Denyce Graves played
Judith and Samuel Ramey impersonated Bluebeard. The opera was directed by
William Friedkin, award-winning film director of The Exorcist and The French
Connection. Giovanni Reggioli conducted the orchestra. The Gala Dinner took place after the performance at the Organization of
American States. Participants included Secretary of Commerce Carlos
Gutierrez, Washington Post Chief Foreign Correspondent Jim Hoagland, former
U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Nancy Brinker, Hungary's Undersecretary for
Education and Culture Katalin Bogyay, Jack Valenti, Ambassadors,
representatives of American and Hungarian media, and the cast.
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