Zarzuela (pronounced [θarˈθwela] in Spain, [sarˈswela] in Latin America), is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance. The name derives from a Royal hunting lodge, the Palacio de la Zarzuela near Madrid, where this type of entertainment was first presented to the court.

There are two main forms of zarzuela: Baroquezarzuela (c.1630–1750), the earliest style, and Romanticzarzuela (c.1850–1950), which can be further divided into two. main sub-genres of género grande and género chico although other sub-divisions exist.

Marina
by Emilio Arrieta
1871 libretto revised by Miguel Ramos Carrión
after the 1855 original by Francisco Camprodón

Act 1 - First light in Lloret de Mar, a seaside village on the Costa Brava. After a Preludio which presents the main themes of the opera, fishermen out to sea are heard singing a song to the dawn (Coro:"Ya la estrella precursora"). Marina, orphaned daughter of a merchant captain, awaits the return of Jorge, the man who took her in after her father's death. She is in love with him, but as he is older and her guardian, she has never dared tell him the truth (Barcarola:"Brilla el mar engalanado"). She confesses all to her friend Teresa in the sweetly poised Aria:"Pensar en él", swiftly followed by its Cabaleta:"Ya sus ojos divisan la playa" when Teresa tells her that Jorge's ship has been sighted.

Another ship's captain Alberto, Teresa's father and a friend of Marina's, tells the girls he is sailing away that evening. Marina asks him to give her a letter he had kept from her father, which she would like to have as a memento. Alberto gladly agrees, but their fond farewells are misinterpreted by Marina's jealous suitor, the ships' fitter Pascual, who considers himself virtually engaged to her. In a duet Pascual tells her roughly that his clumsy ways stop him expressing his love for her, whilst she admits the young man's efforts fail to move her (Dúo:"Yo tosco y rudo trabajador"). In exasperation she tells Pascual to ask her guardian for her hand - if Jorge agrees, then she will marry him. In reality of course, she hopes that this will force Jorge into revealing his own feeling for her.

The men and women of the village describe Jorge's landing (Coro:"Pronto en los brazos") and soon enough he arrives with an enthusiastic greeting to his beloved sea coast (Solo:"Costa la de Levante"). He recalls his beloved Marina in a gentle Aria: "No es verdad que con la ausencia" ¹ before asking where she has gone? The villagers explain that she has gone to the church to pray for his safe return, and as she runs in he praises her devotion to him in a lilting Siciliano:"Al ver en la inmensa") whilst Marina prays that her feeling for him may be returned.

Pascual loses no time in telling Jorge that he intends to get married, and the older man heartily tells him that he has had the same thought, so why don't they marry on the same day? Pascual names Marina, to Jorge's shock and consternation. Marina is equally hurt that Jorge apparently wants to marry someone else, whilst Jorge's cynical boatswain Roque comments on the ironies of the situation - anyone who embarks with a woman goes by boat to hell (Cuarteto:"Alma mía, que has soñado"). Pascual takes the tearful Marina away to give the news to his mother, and Jorge is left with Roque to bemoan the apparent fickleness of women (Dúo final:"¡Feliz morada, donde nací!").

Act 2 - The fitter's yard on the seashore, noon. Pascual's workers sing happily as they work (Coro:"Marinero, marinero"). Their master gives them his news, and a holiday to prepare for the wedding (Dúo y coro:"Esta mano que la brea"). Marina is hardly able to conceal her distress, and though the workers can see that all is not well with the girl, they congratulate her all the same, finish their work and leave ("La novia no parece muy satisfecha"). After they have gone Marina pours out her heart in a delicate Romanza:"¡Oh! grato bien querido". Alberto reassures her that he will send her father's letter before he leaves, and repeats that she can rely on his affection - though once again the jealous Pascual misinterprets his concern and cuts him short rudely.

/ A group of townspeople rush in to praise the happy pair (Coro:"Cumplido parabién la gratitud"). Jorge and Roque join them, and the four major once more express their conflicting emotions - Jorge bitter, Marina sad, Pascual triumphant and Roque worldly wise and cynical - in another quartet (Concertante:"Mi mal exapera"). Pascual asks Marina to come with him to tend to her crippled future mother-in-law, and the act ends with Jorge and Marina praying that in spite of appearances, their hopes may be fulfilled in the end (Final:"¡Ah! A su pesar un día").

Act 3 - A bodega near the beach, that evening. After a poetic orchestral Preludio Jorge, Roque and a group of young sailors are discovered dinking themselves stupid to drown their sorrows (Escena y brindis:"A beber, a beber y a ahogar"). The sailors leave, and a tearful Jorge tells Roque he can't stand any more. Marina appears, and Jorge asks her savagely if she knows the ungrateful woman who robbed him of his heart? Marina still fails to realise the cause of his pain, but remains deeply hurt by her inability to dry his tears. He taunts her by asking her bitterly whether she loves him, whilst Marina asks Roque what woman can possibly have reduced Jorge to this state? The boatswain is too sozzled to fully realise what is going on (Terceto:"No sabés tú que yo tenía").

Roque falls asleep and the other two leave, just before Pascual appears with a group of friends with the idea of serenading his bride-to-be. Roque is disturbed by the noise, grabs the guitar and sings some suggestive seguidillas with the men which steal the moody fitter's thunder (Seguidillas:"La luz abrasadora"). The boatswain and his friends tell Pascual they're going off to sleep - but not before they finish proceedings up with a lively Tango:"Dichoso aquél que tiene".

Pascual intercepts a sailor bringing the letter from Alberto to Marina, and seeing it is a declaration of eternal love, he leaps to the obvious conclusion, denounces Marina bluntly, breaks off the engagement and rushes away cursing into the night.

As he leaves Jorge appears, and soon understands Pascual's mistake and the innocent identity of the letter writer. When he hints he will be leaving tomorrow, Marina can no longer avoid telling him the identity of the man she really loves, and in a brief duet they admit their love for one another (Dúo:"Piensa en el que amante"). Roque ushers on the townsfolk, who ask Marina what is going on - is there to be a wedding or not? She replies that "only the bridegroom has changed" and leads the village in the joyful Rondo-final:"Rayo de luz encantadora". ²

Song Text:

Marina Pensar en él, esa es mi vida,
mi solo bien pensar en él,
amarle fiel si soy querida
y aun sin su amor amarle fiel;
dejar deshojada la flor delicada
y si ella a mi anhelo respuesta no da
del áurea en el giro mandarle un suspiro
que si él no lo acoge al cielo se va.
¡Ay! pensar en él, esa es mi vida etc.

Elena To think of him, that is my life,
my only joy is to think of him,
to love him faithfully if I am beloved,
but even without his love, to love him faithfully;
take off one by one the petals of a delicate flower,
and if that answer does not accord to my wish,
through the golden firmament I'll send him a sigh
that if he does not welcome, will hover in the sky.
Ay! to think of him, that is my life etc

El Sombrero de Tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat) is a ballet composed by Manuel de Falla, commissioned in its development by Sergei Diaghilev and performed in its completed form in 1919.

El Corregidor y La Molinera

During World War I Manuel de Falla wrote a pantomime ballet in two scenes and called it El Corregidor y la Molinera or, The Governor and the Miller's Wife . The work was scored for a small chamber orchestra and was performed in 1917.

[edit]El Sombrero de Tres Picos

Sergei Diaghilev, of the Ballets Russes, saw the premiere of El Corregidor y la Molinera and commissioned de Falla to rewrite the ballet. The outcome was a two-act ballet scored for large orchestra called El Sombrero de Tres Picos or, The Three-Cornered Hat . El Sombrero de Tres Picos was first performed in London in 1919. Diaghilev asked de Falla to conduct the premiere but de Falla felt he was not experienced enough to conduct a work so complex. After the first rehearsal de Falla handed the baton over to Ernest Ansermet. Sets and costumes were done by Pablo Picasso and choreography by Léonide Massine.

[edit]The story

The story of El Sombrero de Tres Picos is based on the well-known novella by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (born in Granada). It is about a magistrate who has become infatuated with a miller's faithful wife and his attempts to seduce her. The story itself has been filmed several times, usually in Spanish.

[edit]Act One

After a short fanfare the curtain rises revealing a mill in Andalusia. The miller is trying to teach a pet blackbird to tell the time. He tells the bird to chirp twice, but instead it chirps three times. Annoyed, the miller scolds the bird and tells it to try again. The bird now chirps four times. The miller gets angry at the bird again and his wife offers it a grape. The bird takes the grape and chirps twice. The miller and his wife laugh over this and continue their work.

Soon the magistrate, his wife, and their bodyguard pass by, taking their daily walk. The procession goes by and the couple return to their work. The dandified, but lecherous, magistrate is heard coming back. The miller tells his wife that he will hide and that they will play a trick on the magistrate.

The miller hides and the magistrate sees the miller's wife dancing. After her dance she offers him some grapes. When the magistrate gets the grapes the miller's wife runs away with the magistrate following her. Finally he catches her, and the miller jumps out of a bush with a stick. The miller chases the magistrate away and the miller and his wife continue working.

[edit]Act Two

That night, guests are at the miller's house. The miller dances to entertain them. His dance is interrupted by the magistrate's bodyguard, who has come to arrest him on trumped-up charges. After the miller is taken away, the guests leave one by one. The miller's wife goes to sleep and soon the magistrate comes to the mill. On his way to the door the magistrate trips and falls in the river. The miller's wife wakes up and runs away.

The Governor undresses and hangs his clothes on a tree and goes to sleep in the miller's bed. The miller has escaped from prison and sees the magistrate in his bed. The miller thinks that the magistrate is sleeping with his wife and plans to switch clothes with the magistrate, and avenge himself by seducing the magistrate's wife. The miller leaves, dressed as the magistrate, and the magistrate soon wakes up. He goes outside and sees that his clothes are gone, so he dresses in the miller's clothes. The bodyguard comes and sees the magistrate dressed as the miller and goes to arrest him. The miller's wife sees the bodyguard fighting with what looks like her husband and joins in the fight. The miller comes back and sees his wife in the fight and joins it to protect her. The magistrate explains the entire story and the ballet ends with the miller's guests tossing the magistrate up and down in a blanket.

[edit]The Music

Throughout the ballet Manuel de Falla uses traditional Andalusian folk music. The two songs sung by the mezzo-soprano are examples of cante-jondo singing, which often accompanies flamenco music. Cante-jondo tells a story and is usually sad.

[edit]

Andalusia is a region in Spain that is best-known for flamenco, a form of music and dance that is mostly performed by Gypsy people and popular throughout the world. ArabMuslims influence seems common, and more inherent than in the rest of Spain.

Improvised flamenco songs of ancient Andalusian origin are called cante jondo, and are characterized by a reduced tonal ambiance, a lack of rhythm, baroque ornamentation and repetition of notes. Cante jondo is sung by a single singer (Cantaor).

[edit]Structure

There are two forms of flamenco songs: cante jondo and cante chico. Cante jondo are slower and usually feature sad lyrics about disappointed love or death, while cante chico are much quicker, more popular and dance-oriented. The concept of duende is very important in flamenco. Loosely, defined, duende is a spiritual or emotional bond between the performer and audience, created by the performer's intense concentration and passion.

There are multiple styles (palos) of flamenco, including:

  • fandango
  • fandangos de Huelva
  • granadínos - from Granada
  • malagueñas - from Málaga
  • saeta
  • sevillana
  • siguiriyas
  • soleares
  • tango

The guitar is a vital instrument to flamenco; it marks the measure of a song, and is frequently used in expressive solos during which the guitarist will improvise short variations called falsetas. Ramón Montoya was the most influential early guitarist, known for having solidified the guitar as a solo instrument. His successors included Manolo Sanlúcar and Paco de Lucía.

[edit]History

The golden age of flamenco is said to be 1869 to 1910, later becoming more and more popularized internationally and influenced by South American music, especially the tango. Musicians from the golden age performed at bars called café cantantes, such as Café de Chinitas in Málaga, which was made famous by the poetry of García Lorca. Other musicians of the early 20th century include Manolo Caracol, who walked from Jerez to participate in a cante jondo competition, which he won.