The best-dressed opera character of all time
Celebrating Judith and 100 years of Ana Raquel Satre
Seeing as her date of birth is listed only as 1925, this random week we celebrate a century of Ana Raquel Satre!
Besides having one of the coolest names of all time, Ana Raquel Satre was a gifted opera singer whose career reached its peak in the late 1950s/early 1960s. Born in Uruguay, she made her London debut at Wigmore Hall and would go on to perform at La Monnaie and La Fenice.
In 1963, she starred alongside Norman Foster in Michael Powell’s adaptation of Béla Bartók’s only opera, Bluebeard’s Castle. Adapted from a fairy tale by Charles Perrault, it tells the story of a man, Bluebeard, bringing his latest wife, Judith, to his castle, in which there are seven locked doors. As Judith demands to enter them and more of Bluebeard’s secrets are revealed, her position as living wife becomes somewhat untenable.
Described as the midpoint between two of Powell’s other films, The Red Shoes and Peeping Tom, Bluebeard’s Castle is sexually charged and absolutely demented. Naturally, it’s a seminal film in the Lily Hyde canon.
The film, made for West German television, had a considerably lower budget than any major film The Archer’s made, and yet, Heckroth, along with Helga Pinnow, used materials like foil and cellophane to create a world both utterly magical and deeply sinister.
At the heart of it is Judith and her diaphonous gowns, which change with every room she enters. Sheer and pale enough to be consumed by Heckroth’s aggressive lighting design of purples, yellows, and reds, her dresses, whilst at times costumey, not only enhance the story but are an excellent distillation of what was happening within the world of fashion in 1963 and portend much more of what was to follow.
Had the film been more widely seen, it would not be unreasonable to suggest that Heckroth and Pinnow’s influence can be seen in the work of designers like Gianfranco Ferré, Vivienne Westwood, Jonathan Anderson, and many more that Substack’s cruel space limitations would not let me explore.
Nevertheless, we’ll look at all eight dresses Judith wears. Look away if you don’t want spoilers for an opera that is over a hundred years old, based on a fairy tale that is over three hundred years old. As Bluebeard would likely say, ignorance is bliss.
Judith’s Wedding Dress
Judith arrives at Bluebeard’s Castle, shrouded in white. She has run away with Bluebeard on the day of her wedding, and whilst most Judiths will stay in their wedding dress for the opera’s entirety, this is just the start of our Judith’s sartorial journey.
Her multilayered dress is Grecian in style, with a scooped neckline and draping around the bodice. It flows nicely as she bounds around the gloomy space, but it isn’t much to write home about, until she removes its bottom layer and - bam! It’s a mini. A woman of business, when we next see Judith, she is in Bluebeard’s bed.
Door One - The Torture Chamber
You might think this is a bedsheet, and indeed, it took me several watches to realise that it’s actually a strapless dress, with rumpled pleating around the bodice. It’s so well done and effortlessly chic that it would look neither out of place at the Yves Saint Laurent-led Dior of the late 50s, nor recent Loewe collections by Jonathan Anderson.
The cut to Judith in Bluebeard’s bed is also the first time that her hair and makeup change. Like her co-star, Norman Foster, Satre’s makeup will change throughout the film; though the design remains the same, with elongated eyebrows, bronze eyeshadow, thick eyeliner, and a nude lipstick with coral tones, it will become softer and harsher when necessary.
Judith's hair is also worth paying attention to. Though she wears it up when she enters the castle, with her fringe neatly swept away, it’s actually a very jagged cut, which, and I say this with kindness, makes most women who have it look manic. Satre looks great, but stylistically, I really like this decision because it’s not an entirely improbable haircut for a woman who thinks she can bring sunshine into the home of a man whose three previous wives have vanished under suspicious circumstances.
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