Opera L`Heure espagnole. La vida breve
World famous Mariinsky Ballet and Opera Theatre - Opera and Concert Hall
Schedule for L`Heure espagnole. La vida breve 2022
Composer: Maurice Ravel
Composer: Manuel de Fallya
Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra
L’Heure espagnole
opera
performed in concert
Music by Maurice Ravel Libretto:
Franc-Nohain (translation by Xenia Klimenko and Natalia Mordashova)
Performed in Russian
Musical Director: Valery Gergiev
Stage
Director: Alexander Zeldin
Design: Sebastien Carlier
Costume Designer:
Marion Cointot
Lighting Designer: Pierre Gaillardot
Musical Preparation:
Natalia Mordashova
•World premiere: 19 May 1911, Opera-Comique, Paris;
•Premiere of this production: 2 June 2008, Mariinsky Theatre Concert Hall,
St Peterburg;
La vida breve
opera
performed in concert
Music by Manuel de Falla
La vida breve (Life is Short, also: The
Brief Life) is an opera in two acts and four scenes by Manuel de Falla to an
original Spanish libretto by Carlos Fernandez-Shaw. The first performance was
given at the Casino Municipal in Nice on April 1, 1913.
The complete opera, only an hour in length, is seldom
performed today, but its dances are, especially the famous Interlude and
Dance, played often at orchestral concerts of Spanish music. Also, the
Danse Espagnole, part of the wedding celebrations, is well-known among
the violin-playing world as a violin showpiece arranged by Fritz Kreisler. The
opera is unusual for having as much purely instrumental as vocal music. Its
opening scene effectively portrays a typical morning in the village, with a male
chorus of anvil workers plying their trade in the local forge.
From wikipedia.org
La vida breve, Manuel de Falla’s musical drama in
two acts to a libretto by Carlos Fernandez-Shaw, appeared at a time when
Europe’s music theatres were ruled by verism. Fateful passions, the tragic
destinies of simple people and perfidious denouements – this and nothing else
was what attracted composers. It is in such a key that de Falla told the story
of a girl abandoned by her beloved. The gypsy flavour of the opera makes La
vida breve unique. The composer turned to gypsy themes and the gypsy music
of Andalusia – the flamenco and the cante jondo (“deep song”). Of all the
treasures of Spanish folklore, de Falla chose this medium – then still little
used by other composers – and went on to create such masterpieces as the ballet
El amor brujo. In the opera La vida breve he first discovered the cante
jondo, which inspired him to compose the finest passages – Salud’s romance and
the dances in Act II.
It was with this opera that de Falla had to test on
himself the theory that there was no “prophet” in his native land. La vida
breve was written by the composer when he was already almost thirty and at
a time when he had already composed another opera and six zarzuelas, only one of
which had been staged, the others languishing on his desk. De Falla took part in
a Spanish opera competition with his new work that was run by the Royal Academy
of Fine Arts in San Fernando in 1905. At the end of the competition he was
declared the winner. But no-one in Spain lifted a finger to help the winner’s
opera be staged. Offended and disappointed, the composer left to work in Paris
where he remained for a long time. New impressions and friendships and meeting
Debussy and Ravel broadened his horizons. His well deserved acclaim finally came
– La vida breve was first performed in Nice on 1 April 1913 in a French
translation by Paul Millet. It was then successfully staged in Paris at the
Opera Comique. When, with the onset of World War I, de Falla returned to his
native Spain he returned triumphant, acclaimed in the music capital of the
world, and the opera La vida breve was at last performed in Madrid.
Anna Bulycheva
Schedule for L`Heure espagnole. La vida breve 2022
|
If you need help or have a question for Customer Service,