"Bluebeard's Castle" was first performed in Italy at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino on 5 May 1938. The production was conducted by Sergio Failoni and starred Miklós Székely in the title role and Ella Némethy as Judith. The Teatro di San Carlo mounted the opera for the first time under Ferenc Fricsay on 19 April 1951 with Mario Petri and Ira Malaniuk. The work's La Scala debut occurred on 28 January 1954 with Petri and Dorothy Dow. This was followed by several other productions at major opera houses in Italy, including the Teatro Regio di Torino (1961), Teatro dell'Opera di Roma (1962), Teatro Comunale di Bologna (1966), La Fenice (1967), and the Teatro Regio di Parma (1970).