To date, it remains the most convincing and powerful reinterpretation of a well-known opera I’ve seen. In this version, a husband-and-wife team grapple with the implications of dementia. Instead of doors masking Bluebeard’s true soul, the audience encounters Judith’s fraught relationship with her memories and the effect it has on her husband.

Sung with white-hot intensity by Susan Bullock and Michael Mayes, this performance was a co-production with England’s Theatre of Sound and Opera Ventures that explored the fleeting nature of memory and the fragility of life. Its effects linger long after the performance ends. Atlanta Opera admirably held a second-Act talkback to discuss the show’s impact on its audience. I only wish I could experience it again somewhere!