Teatro Lirico of DC is an opera company, in its 4th season, whose mission is to bring Spanish light opera, or Zarzuelas, to the Washington, DC area. They are the only local company that focuses solely on Spanish classical music of all centuries. This November they bring us a double bill with a surprise in between.
You will be entertained with beautiful voices, hilarious moments and exciting dance!
Starting with the highlights in La Tempranica, we skip to a dramatic love scene between the outstanding talents of Anamer Castrello, playing the role of María, and José Sacin, playing Don Luis. During the beginning of the show, with no real vocal warm up, they sang their duet with power, beauty and an impressive display of vocal control. La Tempranica is a tragic love story between the gypsy María and Don Luis, a wealthy land-owner. Ending in misery and heartbreak, both María and Don Luis marry another. Teatro Lirico also displayed their dancing talent in La Tempranica. The Flamenco dances, choreographed by Estela Vélez de Paredez, were one after the other, filling the theatre with the boom of foot strikes. At some points of the show, the dances over powered the choir and orchestra, but because of the intensity, was not a disappointment but a thrill.
It was a little bit of a surprise to find that La Tempranica lasted barely 30 minutes. The audience seemed to be a little confused when the cast started taking their bows, not knowing that this was just the musical highlights of the opera.
Next, came the second portion of the night, where the opera stage became a recital stage, featuring 6 members of the cast. All six, including Castrello and Sacin, showcased their voices with appropriate Spanish art songs, arias and duets.
The third and final presentation of the night was a delightfully funny staging of Agua, Azucarillos y Aguardiente. The story revolves around a young couple. Asia, played by Giuliana Concha-Pedraza, has hopelessly fallen in love with Serafin, played by a hilarious Alex Alburqueque. Blinded by love, Asia does not see how Serafin wants to take advantage of her. We then follow Sefarin’s plan to its rightful conclusion.
Everyone was well cast and had many comedic moments. The opening pantomime scene brilliantly set up the story while the 9 piece orchestra played the overture. Director Corinne Hayes, did a brilliant job in giving each character lovable qualities even to the somewhat questionable Serafin. Especially entertaining and fun to watch was Doňa Simona, (Asia’s mother) played by Lucrecia Basaldo, Lorenzo, (Pepa’s boyfriend) played by Oscar Ceville and Serafin, played by Alburqueque as mentioned before. With a gorgeous voice, Castrello, also in this production, sang the role of Pepa.
This production had only 2 performances, November 4th and 6th. I urge anyone who wants to give Zarzuellas a try to check out Teatro Lirico’s next performance. You will be entertained with beautiful voices, hilarious moments and exciting dance! Click here for more information.
