The Opera About Elizabeth B疸hory

Dennis Báthory-Kitsz

2011 Premieres in Vermont (US) took place in...

• Hyde Park Opera House, Hyde Park, October 28
• Haybarn Theatre at Goddard College, Plainfield, October 29
• Main Street Landing Black Box Theatre, Burlington, October 30

First Review (Jim Lowe in the Times-Argus)

The Erzsébet Tower Marketplace is Open!

DVDs, CDs, scores, libretti, posters & more!

Order here!

Now on YouTube!

(No subtitles. Get the DVD or download the libretto.)

Overture and Prologue
Act I
Act II
Act III (part 1)
Act III (part 2)
Epilogue

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for bathory.org!

Fundraising continues for Erzsébet to make up the premiere run's budget deficit. The opera/monodrama on the life and death of Countess Erzsébet Báthory took place in Vermont on Halloween weekend 2011, starring Lisa Jablow and the Vermont Contemporary Music Ensemble conducted by Anne Decker. The production was directed by Ann Harvey with stage design by Pavel Kraus, with costuming by Meg Hammond and Katy Knuth, lighting by Mark O'Maley and DVD videography by Jim Eaton. For more details as they become available, jump down this page to the regular announcements.

There are two ways to back the opera:

• Use PayPal (preferred)
• Send a check

Backers have helped us make the goal of 12,000ドル from 2010. We still need 4,600ドル more (which, with other assistance and ticket sales, will meet the total budget of 25,000ドル) to cover remaining production costs for mounting the opera three times in 2011 -- and there are rewards for backing of any amount!

For those in the US, half of your backing amount is earmarked for the tax-exempt VCME. Documentation will be provided if requested for tax purposes.

143 backers as of November 12, 2011: Anonymous, Dan Albertson, Shirley Albright, Robert Willis Allen, Karen Amrhein, Elizabeth R. Austin, Paul Bailey, Renée Baker, Gary Barwin, Megan Beecher, Eve Beglarian, Joseph Benzola, Vincent Bergeron, Michael Billingsley, Judy P. Boehlert, James Bohn, Robert Bonotto, Caitlin Bright, Marco Brivio, Trevor Bryant, Canary Burton, Lydia Busler-Blais, Lucianne Cardassi, Liz Carrington, Justin Casey, Michael Caulfield, Alison & Neil Cerutti, Jef Chippewa, Carson Cooman, Kim Craft, Noah Creshevsky, Allan Cronin, Elizabeth Dean, Christopher DeLaurenti, Carl Dershem, Pam DeSimone, Mark Dickinson, Dean Dierschow, Willie Docto, Emily Doolittle, David Drexler, Rachael Elliott, Marc Estrin, Devena Fifield, François Floc'h, Joanne Foreman, Cricket Fox, Richard B. Fredette, James S. Grant, David Gunn, Jonah Haggett, Greg Hall, Tom Hamilton, Evan Hause, Jan Herder, Sean Hickey, Jim Hickle, Lisa Hirsch, Bob Hobbs, Nancy Holzner, Zona Hostetler, D'Anne Hotchkiss & Brad W. Smith, Susan Hoyt, Lisa Jablow, Don Jamison, Brian A. Johnson, Jennifer Jolley, Tomás Kalmar, Kalvos & Damian, Sam Kerson and Katah, Steven Klimowski, Beverly H. Klotz, Steve Layton, Jakob Lehmann, Beth Levin, Bruce & Linda Linthicum, Lisa Lucius (Nashua NH), Janet MacLeod, Peggy Madden, George Magill, Nicholas Maggio, Nick Maggio III, Les Marsden, Charles Mayhood, Malcolm McAfee, Ann McCutchan, John P. Mello Jr., Marisa Merewood, Ariane Michel, David Morneau, Lies Muller, Paul H. Muller, Walter P. Murphy (in memory of Gene Morel), Lynne S. Myers, Erik Nielsen, Margaret Noble, Northfield Savings Bank, James Parks, James Jeffrey Paul, Josh Perschbacher, Troy Peters, Niels Petersen, Mary Ellen Petti, William P. Pfaff, Irene Racz, Francis Riesz, Epiphany Roa, Dione Rose, Dean & Karin Rosenthal, Eric J. Roth, Eleonor Sandresky, David P. Sartor, Kay & Max Schlueter, Emily Elizabeth Searles, Dave Seidel, Alex Shapiro, James V. Signorile, Aggie Birdsong Smee, Rich & Boo Smith, David Smooke, Laurie Spiegel, Thomas Steenland, Richard F. Suitor, Taylan Susam, Margaret Swinchoski, Bruce A. Talmadge, Fern Tavalin, Sam Thurston, Orestis Tringides, Doug & Nancy Tschorn, Jeremy Van Buskirk, Caroline Van Howe, Cole Verhoeven, Samuel Vriezen, Jason Walters, Andrea Warnke, Lisa Whistlecroft, Von Wichert, Jari Williamsson, Charles Wilson & the Vermont Alliance of Independent Country Stores, Kurt Wiscombe, Wammes Witkop, Erling Wold.

• Back the opera with 25ドル or more: A pre-release copy of "O: Eleven Songs for Chorus SATB" with my music and text and illustrations by Gary Barwin. and download of the premiere performance recording. Only 10 copies available.
• Back the opera with 30ドル or more: The Infamous level includes a published libretto to Erzsébet, with the text and photos, and autographed by the composer or a copy of Kim Craft's authoritative new biography "Infamous Lady" or my own "Country Stores of Vermont" and download of the premiere performance recording.
• Back the opera with 50ドル or more: Published musical score of Erzsébet, autographed by the composer. This pledge also includes download of the premiere performance recording. Unlimited copies available.
• Back the opera with 100ドル or more: Black T-shirt with red-and-white image of the Bathory seal on one side, and "Erzsébet: The Opera" on the other, plus an autographed CD recording of the premiere. Specify size S/M/L/XL/XXL.
• Back the opera with 500ドル or more: This benefactor level is a complete bundle of all the other rewards PLUS a dedication in the new edition of the published score itself.
• Back the opera with 1500ドル or more (limited to 1 set): At this pledge level you get the two xylophones made by Fred Carlson for David Gunn, one chromatic and the other using 10 tones per octave instead of 12. What? Yes, they were designed for a piece called "Bad Vibes" -- and it's time for them to go! David says, "three octaves each and lovingly handcrafted with Genuine Wood. The lowest note of the two chromos is an E, making them Phrygian in character." There are just two! Plus the t-shirt, score, etc.
• Back the opera with 3000ドル or more (limited to 1): Katherine Anne Porter's "French Song Book" limited edition, signed, given to me by Barbara Harrison of Harrison of Paris. Plus the t-shirt, score, etc. Not the xylophones, though.
• Back the opera with 5000ドル or more (limited to 2): There were fewer than 100 Ionic Performer Synthesizers made in the early 1970s. David Gunn and I have one each. We were going to put them on eBay, but instead we are offering them as rewards for a large pledge to "Erzs饕et: The Blood Countess Opera". You'll of course get all the other rewards as part of the package, but these are so rare you may never see another one. Here's a link to my Performer Ionic page. Oh, and plus the t-shirt, score, etc., but not the xylophones or the Porter book.

This Site is About the Opera Erzsébet

This site is about the opera Erzsébet. Although I have learned as much as possible about the Countess, I am not a reliable source of historical information. No one has first-hand information, and all of mine, save of the direct experiences at Castle Cséjthe, are third-hand at best.

I am not writing a history. I am simply retelling what I know from the perspective of what I require as a composer to tell this story. This site was never meant to be more than a repository of my thoughts & ideas over the past 15 years -- but since it became popular, people seem to give it more credibility than it deserves!

The frequently asked questions have been updated to reflect some of the comments I have received. Please be certain to read the FAQ and the Past Announcements before emailing me!

I am happy to share information about the Countess, and have created an extensive bibliography and webography to assist visitors. I am also delighted to receive information and corrections and will incorporate them, with credit, into these pages.

And please listen to my music!

Thank you!

Announcements:

• February 4, 2015: Two new oil paintings from Linn Madeleine Zeena Petersson and Abraao Chagas de Andrade in the gallery!
• April 13, 2013: A new tattoo image from Rocco D'Addetta in the gallery!
• August 1, 2012: The castle in Slovakia is now under reconstruction and archaeological exploration. The two-year project will accept visitors only by appointment. Afterwards it becomes kind of a theme park. Here is the story (in Slovak).
• July 1, 2012: The entire opera is up on YouTube. No subtitles, though. For that you'll need the DVD in the store or a copy of the libretto Links:
  
  1. Overture & Prologue
  2. Act 1
  3. Act 2
  4. Act 3 Part 1
  5. Act 3 Part 2
  6. Epilogue
• April 4, 2012: There are three new images in the gallery!
• November 6, 2011: Bring Erzsébet to you! What you need to know to bring the opera to your community!
• November 3, 2011: First Review (Jim Lowe in the Times-Argus) ... image only, as web is paywalled.
• November 2, 2011: Photo album of rehearsals and performances, October 2011. Also, the old fundraising section is here. The videos are still fun.
• October 31, 2011: The premiere run of Erzsébet is over. This ends the first part of a 24-year project. Now bring the opera to your town!
• October 27, 2011: Here are images of the venues where Erzsébet was premiered.
• September 16, 2011: A hearty welcome to Ann Harvey, who has enthusiastically stepped in as director to replace Naomi Flanders, who spent the late summer struggling with health issues.
• June 7, 2011: A review of The Private Letters of Countess Erzsébet Báthory by Kimberly L. Craft is now posted. Read this review and get this companion book to Infamous Lady
• May 17, 2011: A new painting has been added to the Gallery by Paul Mellino. (This one is for sale.)
• January 19, 2011: Quick note that the Gallery is updated with a dramatic new Countess image by Alex Adams!
• April 28, 2010: Finally my review of Bathory, Juraj Jakubisko's epic film.
• April 21, 2010: New mailing list for announcements about the opera and this site: Visit http://nine.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/erzsebet to join!
• April 18, 2010: Here is my review of Infamous Lady by Kimberly Craft. This is a must-have book; read the review, then get your copy from Amazon.com and visit the Infamous Lady website.
• May 20, 2009: Quick note: Some folks have asked what the text means on the seal. Here's your answer. "Sigismundus Bathori D[eo] G[ratias] Dux Transilvanie Wallach[iae]" = "Sigismond Bathory, by the grace of God, Prince of Transylvania and Wallachia". Sigismond appeared on coins and so became associated with the crest; he became Voivode and Prince in 1581. Regarding the "NO": It is most likely that this version of the crest is actually the seal (used for sealing wax on letters) and the phrase means "nomine officii" (in an official capacity). But this is more an educated guess because "nomine officii" was often used to indicate official documents, and is still used today in corporate seals.
• May 7, 2009: Often I get requests for directions to the castle in Cachtice; the days of it being an isolated village are over. You can get there by bus directly into town or by train (to Visnové) after which it is a walk. If you want to see where it is, then use Google Earth or Google Maps with the satellite view (enter "Cachtice, Slovakia"). Google has updated its photos and they are now quite good. Here is a link to the overview image (the antenna shape is the castle overlooking Visnové on the top left, with Cachtice on the bottom right) and here is a link to a closeup image of the remains of the castle (the sheer cliff on the left and the gentle hill from Cachtice on the right).
• Find Past Announcements Here. Be sure to read them before emailing me -- thanks!

General

• Some Frequently Asked Questions
• Among What is Known about Erzsébet
• Present and Past Announcements
• Trouble reading? Here is This Site in Black-on-White

Photos

• The Countess: A 16th Century Portrait
• Who Is the Real Countess?
• Cséjthe Castle Photo Album, 1992 Page 1 Page 2
• Cséjthe Castle Photo Album, 2001 Page 1 Page 2
• Cséjthe Castle Photo Album, 2004 Page 1 Page 2
• Some Castle Wall Photos
• A Panorama of the Castle Grounds, 1992
• Production Photos by Carlos Carrillo, 2006
• A Gallery of Contributed Artwork (working)
• Travel Channel Interview Segment
• My Hand-Colored Classic Portrait (.jpg)
• Bathory Crest Screen Wallpaper (.bmp)
• Want a Glossy Hi-Res Print of a Photo?
• Photos from the Premiere Run
• The Original Premiere Venues
• Use Restrictions. Please read!

The Opera

• Monodrama "Blood Scene" Rehearsal
• Score of the "Blood Scene" (.pdf)
• Considerations on the Opera: A Cologne Journal
• The Scenario of an Opera: Original Concept
• The Scenario of an Opera: 'Blood Countess' Concept

Related Writings

• Review of Craft's Private Letters of Countess Erzsébet Báthory
• Review of Craft's Infamous Lady
• Review of Jakubisko's Bathory
• Bram Stoker, Elizabeth Bathory and Dracula by Elizabeth Miller
• Deux Essais pour Vampyres unVeiled
• Short Story: A Cloak for the Lord of Cats
• Epic Poem: The Carpathian Blood Countess by Sam Wouters
• Siete Lunas de Sangre by Carlos D. Pérez
• Legado de los Carpatos by Carlos Carrillo
• The Prayer of Erzsébet
• The Fans of Erzsébet

Journals

• Visit to Castle Cséjthe, April 18, 1992
• Return to Castle Cséjthe, May 5-10, 2001
• Second Return to Castle Cséjthe, June 2-8, 2004 (.pdf)

References

• An Erzsébet Bibliography

Music

• Monodrama "Blood Scene" Rehearsal
• Score of the "Blood Scene" (.pdf)
• A Musical Sketch: Meggondolatlan Õrült Iramban Csárdás
• Detritus of Mating, ElectroAcoustic Music on CD
• Please listen to my music

Me

• Back to Dennis Báthory-Kitsz Home Page
• My Résumé
• Please send your comments