Most recordings of Bluebeard’s Castle have their pivotal moments. With Péter Eötvös (Hänssler), it’s the soul-scarring cry as Bluebeard, masterfully sung by Péter Fried, opens the door to his torture chamber. István Kertész, whose 1965 LSO recording for Decca is still a benchmark of sorts, triumphs at the fifth door where Christa Ludwig stands awestruck at the sudden revelation of Bluebeard’s domain. With Valery Gergiev, the pivotal moment is the sombre burbling of the lake of tears (at the start of tr 7) where Judith is transfixed by the water’s unearthly hush and Bluebeard explains, “tears, my Judith, tears, tears…”. Gergiev sustains a pretty slow tempo while clarinet and low strings embrace both protagonists with long, expressive lines. The opera’s later episodes, such as the accelerating blood-rush as Judith susses the shocking truth (Gergiev and his players are on tremendous form here), Bluebeard pondering his past wives and the overwhelming moment when Judith at last joins them, all suggest similar levels of thoughtfulness, sense of theatre and sensitivity to mood.

Interestingly, the Prologue is spoken in English (by Sir Willard himself) whereas the opera is sung, as it must be for its true musical effect to register properly, in Hungarian. White does fairly well with Hungarian though his vibrato tends to widen a little under pressure. Elena Zhidkova isn’t the most seductive of Judiths – she sounds a mite too needy for my tastes – and like White, the beat of her vibrato can be distracting, but she acts well and her singing generates considerable intensity. Gergiev keeps the Prologue on the move but I missed an element of shock as the first door reveals the torture chamber. The damp-squib effect is further underlined by Zhidkova’s rather feeble “Jaj” [Woe]. The castle’s armoury, too, hardly inspires fear or terror, but Gergiev comes into his own when delving among Bluebeard’s treasures, a brightly glistening blend of sonorities, and basking in his fragrant gardens. The fifth door is spoiled somewhat by Zhidkova entering fractionally off cue, but the panoramic impact of the LSO’s playing partially compensates.

As to placing Gergiev among his rivals, I’d suggest that Haitink (with von Otter and Tomlinson) is marginally more moving and Kertész (with Ludwig and Berry) more alluring. And then there’s the joy of hearing Mihály Székely and Klára Palánkay dancing around the Hungarian language as no one else quite manages, with János Ferencsik conducting (for Hungaroton, in mono). But why have we in the UK still never had Iván Fischer’s Budapest Festival recording of Bluebeard, not necessarily the best-sung, but certainly one of the best conducted? I’m puzzled.

If comparisons are less of the essence than hopping aboard an operatic masterpiece for the first time then rest assured, Gergiev, his orchestra and his singers offer good accounts of themselves and, by extension, of Bartók too.