La vida breve (de Falla)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The short life |
| Original title: | La vida breve |
| Shape: | thoroughly composed |
| Original language: | Spanish |
| Music: | Manuel de Falla |
| Libretto : | Carlos Fernández-Shaw |
| Premiere: | April 1, 1913 |
| Place of premiere: | Nice , Casino Municipal |
| Playing time: | approx. 64 minutes |
| Place and time of the action: |
Granada , Albaicín early 20th century |
| people | |
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The opera La vida breve ( The Short Life ) is a lyrical drama in two acts and four pictures by Manuel de Falla based on a libretto by Carlos Fernández-Shaw . The first performance took place in 1913 in the Casino municipal in Nice in French. De Falla uses many elements from Spanish folklore in his veristically and impressionistically influenced opera , such as the cante jondo with rhythmic ostinati , as well as other forms of flamenco . The choir usually acts in the background and serves as background music for moods. Only in the 2nd act is he also the agent. With this opera de Falla found his own musical language.
La vida breve is considered "the most Spanish of all operas".
content
first act
The opera is set in the Gitano district in the Albaicín of Granada .
Salud, who comes from a poor Gitano family, lives with her grandmother and her great-uncle Sarvaor near a forge and a market. After a short orchestral introduction, blacksmiths' hammers and chants sound, including a lament that runs like a leitmotif through the opera.
"Malaya el hombre ... Malhaya quien nace yunque, en vez de nacer martillo."
“Unhappy man who is born with a gloomy fate. It is unfortunate who is destined for the anvil instead of the hammer. "
Salud is desperately waiting for her fiancé Paco, a young man from the upper class. The grandmother tries to comfort Salud and warns her that too much love is dangerous. Salud laments her lot
"La vida del pobre que vive sufriendo debe ser mu corta."
"The life of the poor who lives in suffering will be very short."
When Paco finally arrives, he reassures Salud of his love and loyalty. Meanwhile, Salud's great-uncle Sarvaor comes back upset. He tells the grandmother that Paco is cheating on Salud and wants to marry a rich girl of his class the next day. Sarvaor plans to kill Paco, which grandmother prevents him from doing. Paco leaves the house and escapes unmolested.
The second picture is an orchestral interlude with a choir entitled Intermezzo Granada , in which, according to the stage directions, the panorama of Granada is shown from Sacro Monte. This interlude is a mood picture. The evening comes and the night falls. The intermezzo is accompanied by interlocking voices made up of individual voices and choirs, with complaints, girls' laughter, working noises and voices from the market. The interlude leads into a folkloric Spanish dance with castanets , the beginning of the 2nd act. This dance is one of the most famous pieces by de Falla and is often performed in concert.
Second act
The setting of the second act is a house where Paco is wedding to Carmela. After a Spanish dance, a singer performs Andalusian Soleares with guitar accompaniment in front of the guests . During the subsequent dance, salud appears. She has since found out about Paco's infidelity and looks through the window. In a desperate scene, she laments her suffering and wishes for death. Sarvaor and the grandmother join in, try in vain to comfort Salud and curse Paco. Salud sings the smithy song in front of another window.
"[...] Malhaya quien nace yunque, en vez de nacer martillo."
Paco, who has heard Salud's voice, becomes restless. Salud only has the desire to come into the house to confront Paco.
An intermezzo and another dance introduce the second scene, the finale of the opera. Manuel, Carmela's brother, congratulates Paco and Carmela. At this moment Salud and Sarvaor enter the courtyard of the house and Sarvaor is recognized by the guests as Gitano. Sarvaor then claims to want to dance and sing in front of the guests with Salud, and Manuel mocks him. Salud breaks free and accuses Paco. When Paco denies everything, Salud sinks to the ground and dies. The grandmother laments Salud's death and describes Paco as an infamous traitor. The opera ends with the exclamation of the grandmother and Sarvaors: " Judas !"
Emergence
In 1904 the Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid announced a competition for one-act operas. At the suggestion of his teacher Felip Pedrell , the then 28-year-old de Falla immediately began composing an actually two-act opera based on a libretto by his friend Carlos Fernández-Shaw, a successful Zarzuela librettist. The opera La vida breve received first prize in 1905, but the Spanish premiere did not take place until November 14, 1914 at the Teatro Zarzuela in Madrid, after the work had already been performed in Nice and Paris.
Discography (complete recordings)
- Capilla Clasica Polifonica, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona under Ernesto Halffter Escriche with Victoria de los Ángeles and Pablo Civil , EMI 1952.
- Orfeón Donostiarra Choir, Orquesta Nacional de España under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos , with Victoria de los Ángeles and Carlos Cossuta , EMI 1966.
- Ambrosian Opera Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra under García Navarro with Teresa Berganza and José Carreras , DG 1978.
younger recordings
- Cincinnati SO under Jesús López Cobos , Telarc 1990.
- Orchestra Ciudad de Granada, Josep Pons, harmonia mundi 1998.
- Orchestra Teatro lirico di Cagliari , Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Dynamic (Klassik Center Kassel), 2002
- Asturias SO, Maximiano Valdés, Naxos 2004
literature
- Heinz Wagner: The great manual of the opera . Noetzel, Wilhelmshaven 1991, ISBN 3-7959-0505-2 .
- Dieter Uhrig, in: Concert program of the RSB-Berlin from September 4th 1993.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See for example B. Frank Granville Barker: La vida breve . Supplement to the CD, EMI CDM 7695902, p. 7