Ainadamar
Ainadamar | |
---|---|
Opera by Osvaldo Golijov | |
Translation | Fountain of Tears |
Librettist | David Henry Hwang |
Language | Spanish |
Based on | Federico García Lorca and Margarita Xirgu |
Premiere | August 10, 2003 |
Ainadamar or An Opera in Three Images (Arabic for 'Fountain of Tears'[1]) is the first opera by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. The libretto was written by American playwright David Henry Hwang and translated from English into Spanish by the composer.[2][3] It premiered in Tanglewood on 10 August 2003 and, after major revisions, the new version was given its premiere at the Santa Fe Opera on 30 July 2005.
The opera tells the story of playwright
Ainadamar is told in reverse in a series of flashbacks, and involves Lorca's opposition to the
The opera
Ainadamar has features of both an opera and a
Ainadamar also connects with previous operatic traditions, as in the casting of Lorca as a
Plot
Xirgu prepares to go onstage at the Solís Theatre in Montevideo. She has spent her career portraying Mariana Pineda in Lorca's play of the same name. Xirgu fled to Uruguay in the unrest before the Spanish Civil War. Lorca refused to leave and was assassinated by the Falange in 1936. Like his muse Pineda, Lorca died young. Xirgu has been playing Pineda on stage for almost forty years.
Xirgu tells her student Nuria of her friendship with Lorca. The poet emerges from the past to sing of the pure love Pineda represented to him even as a child, when he would see her statue in Granada. Xirgu blames herself for Lorca's fate, since she could not convince the young man to abandon Spain. In Xirgu's memories, she dreams of freedom in Cuba, but Lorca insists that he must witness suffering and memorialize the dead. Falangist officer Ruiz Alonso arrests Lorca, accusing him of conspiracy. Lorca to the Fountain of Tears alongside a teacher and a bullfighter. After the Falangist guard José Tripaldi takes their confessions, the three prisoners are shot.
In the present, an exhausted Xirgu insists she must tell Pineda's story one more time. A vision of Lorca interrupts her. He thanks her for immortalising his spirit on stage and in the hearts of her students as she dies.
Performance history
It met its Chicago premiere at the Ravinia Festival on 14 June 2006, and was staged by Opera Boston in November 2007. Adelaide Festival under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy presented a production directed by Graeme Murphy in March 2008 and Cincinnati Opera presented the opera on 9 and 11 July 2009.[4]
Presentations in major conservatories have included the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under Carmen Helena Téllez (2007) and the Curtis Institute of Music under Corrado Rovaris (2008). A concert version was scheduled for Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's in December 2008, with Upshaw and O'Connor.
Performances of the opera took place on June 25 and 27, 2011 at the Alhambra Nasrid palace in
The opera had its first UK production in 2022, a production led by Scottish Opera, with performances in Edinburgh and Glasgow. In a review, Rowena Smith of the Guardian called Golijov's music "a celebration of the feminine" but criticized the "unnecessary imposition" of imagery relating to crucifixion.[7] In 2023, the Detroit Opera included the opera in their 2022/2023 programming. Pacific Opera Victoria included Ainadamar in their 2023/2024 season.
Roles
The performers listed are those on the 2006 Deutsche Grammophon recording.
Margarita Xirgu, an actress | soprano | Dawn Upshaw |
Federico García Lorca | mezzo-soprano | Kelley O'Connor |
Nuria, a favorite student of Margarita | soprano | Jessica Rivera |
Ruiz Alonso, a Falangist officer | Flamenco vocalist | Jesús Montoya |
José Tripaldi, a Falangist guard | baritone | Eduardo Chama |
Maestro, a teacher | tenor | Sean Mayer |
Torero, a bullfighter | tenor | Robb Asklof |
Recordings
The first recording was released by
Both the recording and the opera met immediate critical acclaim. The recording won two
References
- ^ "Ainadamar". osvaldogolijov.com. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Robert Spano | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "Ainadamar". Detroit Opera. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ Lunden, Jeff. "Composer Golijov Tries Opera with 'Ainadamar'". All Things Considered. NPR. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ "Teatro Real:Ainadamar". Retrieved 9 July 2012.
- ^ "2012-13 Season" Archived 2014-11-02 at the Wayback Machine, on quantumtheatre.com
- ^ Smith, Rowena. "Ainadamar review – vibrant and deft production brings Golijov's opera to the UK". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar - Fountain of Tears, details of the recording on deutschegrammophon.com
Links
- Ainadamar at the Opera Company of Philadelphia (Now Opera Philadelphia)
- Program notes from Ainadamar performance at Ravinia Festival, 2006
- Alex Ross, "Deep Song: Ainadamar" (Review of Tanglewood premiere), The New Yorker, September 1, 2003
- Osvaldo Golijov's websites
- Granada International Music and Dance Festival