How fortuitous that Paul Dukas would be born on October 1. What better way to start Halloween month than with the composer of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice?”
Though Dukas left a comparatively small output – he was a notorious perfectionist who destroyed much – what survives of his music is of very high quality. Of that, he lends to his Halloween street cred with two other works of a fantastical, potentially horrific nature: an opera about Bluebeard and his sixth wife, and a so-called dance poem, “La Péri,” about a fatal encounter with a Persian fairy.
The music is fantastic in more ways than one. Happy birthday, Paul Dukas!
“La Péri”
His Bluebeard opera, “Ariane et Barbe-Bleue”
Mickey learns that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing:
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