New York Classical Review

Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar premiered at the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday evening in a mesmerizing production by Brazilian director and choreographer Deborah Colker.

The opera premiered at Tanglewood in 2003, and was significantly reworked by Golijov and librettist David Henry Hwang for a revival at the Santa Fe Opera two years later. Running approximately 80 minutes without intermission, the opera tells the story of the 20th-century Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca as recalled by his muse, the actress Margarita Xirgu. 

In what its creators describe as “three images,” Margarita recalls the persecution which Lorca faced due to his socialist views and homosexuality, her unsuccessful attempt to persuade the writer to flee Spain, and his murder in 1936 at the hands of the Falangists. (The Falange was an extremist nationalist political group with a Roman Catholic identity active in Spain in the mid- 1930s).

Known for her work with Cirque du Soleil, Colker wove movement into every measure of Golijov’s score. The result was a trancelike flow of music and motion that captured the opera’s mix of gritty realism and mysticism. Before coming to the Met, Colker’s production was staged by the Scottish Opera and Detroit Opera. It nonetheless feels custom-made for the Met, perfect in both scope and scale.

British set and costume designer Jon Bausor tamed the vastness of the Met stage by placing the action within a circle in the center of the stage. A suspended circular structure with lights nd white strands flowed downwards to the action on the stage. The strands not only delineated the space, but served as a screen for projections which ranged from fierce racing horses to political speeches, and ultimately masses of people mourning the death of Lorca.

Inside the circle, Bausor creates the various locales in which the story unfolds through the use of over-sized pick up sticks and boards. These range from backstage at the Teatro Solís in Montevideo, Uruguay, where Margarita prepares to perform in Lorca’s play Mariana Pineda, to the Ainadamar (Arabic for “Fountain of Tears”) in Granada, where Lorca is believed to have been executed. The stage elements create little in the way of time or place, but effectively telescope the action and create the space for movement and dance. 

Everyone on stage moves, from the Niñas, a troupe of dancer/singers, to all the characters in the opera. In her quest for authenticity, Colker engaged Antonio Najarro, renowned not only as a choreographer in the field of dance, but also ice skating, to create the flamenco dance sequences. Colker’s ability to paint a scene in movement merged with Najarro’s energetic, impassioned choreography to create images that were visually arresting, dramatically engaging, and at one with Golijov’s eclectic score.

Golijov employs rhythm and music of all sorts which include traditional flamenco instruments, recorded music and other sounds, including gun shots and water dripping, as well as recorded excerpts of political speeches from the 1930s. Hwang supplied the text and Golijov wrote arias that soar. (The composer concedes that the final trio was inspired by the one in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier.)

The role of Lorca is written for mezzo-soprano, but that was mere happenstance. Golijov abandoned work on an opera for an all-female cast for Tanglewood, but had to work with the singers who had already been engaged. Casting Lorca as a pants role, however, does work, especially with such a compelling singing actress as Daniela Mack performing it. Mack was totally convincing as the poet, affecting a persona which combined androgyny and insouciance. Much of the role lies low, and Mack’s dark, plummy voice fit it to a tee.

Usually Angel Blue’s sunny personality peaks through no matter how serious the situation, but not in her portrayal of Margarita. Blue completely submerged herself into the character of the actress who kept Lorca’s name alive in South America, when his works were banned in Spain. As with the role of Lorca, much of this music rests low in the voice, where Blue’s soprano is not at its strongest. Give Blue a soaring line, however, as in the concluding scene and it soared effortlessly throughout the house generating real heartbreak, as well as a scintilla of hope.

Lorca, who was a classical pianist, was captivated by cante jondo, or “deep song, the original manifestation of flamenco, from which the dancing and playing emerged. Golijov employed the cante jondo style in the music he composed for the Falangist politician Ramón Ruiz Alonso, who arranged Lorca’s execution. Flamenco singer Alfredo Tejada’s earthy, chilling delivery penetrated deep into the soul as he tossed out Alonso’s streams of invectives condemning Lorco.

Some of the most satisfying singing of the performance came from Elena Villalón in the role of Nuria, Margarita’s acolyte to whom she tells her story. Villalón’s lustrous, shining soprano was the perfect contrast to Blue and Mack’s darker voices. 

Peruvian conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya made his Met debut with this performance. (He is no stranger to the opera, as he conducted the 2005 performances at Santa Fe.) Under his baton, the Met Orchestra played the flamencos and rumbas that course through the score with energy and flair. Harth-Bedoya was sensitive to balance, especially in those low-lying passages where Blue and Mack could have easily been drowned out by the orchestra. 

Golijov’s score is rich with orchestral color provided by instruments of all sort, including the cajón, a percussion instrument originally from Peru, and acoustical guitar, both of which were played on stage by Gonzalo Grau and Adam del Monte. The sounds of water dripping from the Ainadamar fountain was effectively realized by the sounds of harp, vibraphone, celeste, strings, recorded water droplets, and human voices. All of these diverse sonorities emerged as an authentic, organic part of the musical texture under Harth-Bedoya’s touch.

The tension created by Golijov’s score and Colker’s gripping concept for Ainadamar never abated for an instant throughout the performance. In the final scene where Margarita dies, there was the striking visual image of Blue in a scarlet dress that matched in color and intensity a column suspended above the stage. Blue glowed vocally and physically as she sang “I am Freedom,” the final words spoken by Mariana Pineda in Lorca’s play. Her singing of those words unleashed a sense of triumph and elation.

Ainadamar runs through November 9, with Gabriella Reyes performing the tile role on October 30. metopera.org