Voice
- Date:
18 May 9 p.m.
- Duration: 90 min
- Hall: Other Venues
Lazarillo, beyond desolation and the passing centuries
In a parched Spain, battered by suffocating sun, the rainfall is scarce but torrential, it overflows the riverbeds and causes floods. Ignorance, fanaticism, and misery are exploited by those who fight to remain alive, while trying to maintain a false sense of honour. With this panorama, being born next to a mill in the Tormes river as the son of a thief and a black man’s concubine is not a good place to start. The boy Lazarillo roams through dilapidated towns among the skeletons of buildings which were once signs of progress. He travels hand to hand, at the mercy of masters and lords, learning the hard lessons of survival.
But what year is this? Is it 1550 or 2050? Is this all before or after the climate disaster? “To look at Lazarillo is to touch the past with a sense of the relief for having got through it. And to turn pale in the face of warning signs for a future that awaits us.”
These considerations by Stage Director Ricardo Campelo lead us –and because of its dystopia or timelessness, the story unsettles or attracts us– to a remarkable interpretation of the classic Spanish novella, Lazarillo de Tormes, transformed by the skilled and applauded company Teatro Xtremo into an engaging chamber opera. The music is by David del Puerto (Premio Nacional de Música 2005), and the text is by Martín Llade (Premio Ondas por Sinfonía de la mañana, en Radio Clásica), and it retains most of the original expressions such as “Eat it, for a rat is a clean thing”. The vibrant and varied score is for a quartet of voices and six instruments. This chef d’oeuvre of Spanish literature comes alive with impressive audiovisuals and a multitude of sound effects. A gigantic screen projects images in real time during the performance and a video camara films the singers. Because one thing is certain: the year 2050 will arrive and Lazarillo will still be full of life. For sure.
Libretto by Martín LLade.
Premiere on June 16, 2023, at the Festival “Iberoamericano del Siglo de Oro” of the Regional Government of Madrid
- Musical director: Lara Diloy
- Stage Director: Ricardo Campelo
- Production: Ruth González y Salvador Collado
Joint programming of the Teatro de la Maestranza and the Teatro Lope de Vega
Teatro Xtremo Project with the collaboration of Festival Iberoamericano del Siglo de Oro de la Comunidad de Madrid, Teatro Leal of La Laguna, Proyecto Verdi and Euroscena.
- Soprano: Ruth González
- Mezzo: Silvia Zorita
- Baritone: Enrique Sánchez-Ramos
- Tenor: Antoni Comas
- Flute: Gala Kossakowski
- Oboe: Lucas Martínez
- Bassoon: Andrea Pérez
- Violin: Zabdiel Hernández
- Cello: Isabel Anaya
- Guitar: Laura Verdugo
Lara Diloy
Is one of the few well-known female Spanish conductors on the circuit. With a wide range of symphonic and opera repertory, she is invited as a Guest conductor to numerous orchestras in prestigious auditoriums and theatres where she has worked in stage productions and concerts featuring the voice.
Ricardo Campelo
Educated at the Fundación Rajatabla in Venezuela and a recipient of many awards, he is the director of the Teatro Xtremo (Madrid). Has chaired innumerable conferences and seminars, hosted get-togethers with the public, and engaged in opera projects. He has also led courses on stage direction and interpretation.
The press says
Visión musical y escénica del Lazarillo
El compositor David del Puerto y el comunicador y comentarista musical Martín Llade se unen en uno de los textos más célebres de la picaresca española
El arte de hacer con Lázaro una ópera de cámara
El elemento performativo esencial es la interpretación. Cantantes-actores y músicos cumplen bien su papel.