Kertész shapes the music admirably, and Walter Berry makes an appropriately compassionate Bluebeard (as opposed to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on DG, who is altogether too menacing); but neither Berry, nor, for all the beauty of her tone, Christa Ludwig sound idiomatically Hungarian.

Berry's assumption of the title-role — which is beautifully if not terribly idiomatically, sung suggests neither Angst nor impatience. Ludwig, too, was in wonderful voice at the time of this recording, and instances of her eloquence are far too numerous to list individually...Kertesz represents the opera's compassionate core...an exceptional performance, spectacularly well recorded.

Ludwig and Berry also appear as ill-starred spouses on this tremendous 1965 recording of Bartók’s claustrophobic one-acter: the relationship between Bluebeard and his bride here is warmer and more compassionate than many of their rivals on disc, and though neither was especially familiar with Hungarian both offer nuanced word-painting that brings the sepulchral castle to eerie life.

The two protagonists are superb, Christa Ludwig in particular...Her high C at the opening of the fifth door indicates that she had nothing to fear from the competition...[Berry] offers an equally compelling, intelligent take on the enigmatic title character, and István Kertész's conducting is as idiomatic as one could wish. In short, this is a classic performance of a great work, one that in many ways has never been surpassed.