For the first time in its history, when the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra takes the stage at Kleinhans Music Hall Wednesday night, the audience will not be able to see the musicians.
In what is being billed as a collaborative arts venture, the orchestra is partnering with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Corning Museum of Glass to present Bela Bartok’s rarely-performed lone opera “Bluebeard’s Castle.” For the performance, part of the BPO’s “Know the Score” series, the 85-member orchestra will be staged behind seven Dale Chihuly-designed glass sculptures, each of which is 14-feet tall. The 70-minute opera begins with the orchestra tucked behind black, glass walls — each of which will gradually turn and transform into the Chihuly pieces during the opera.