Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar
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Free Music Notes for Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar
Free Music Review: Operatic cartoon
Hit: 2 Stars
The rhythms are exciting, some of the orchestration is clever and well-done. Listening to the CD overcomes some of the problems of a live production: achieving a balance between acoustic and amplified music, overcoming the lack of contrast (almost all women's voices) and utter lack of dramatic movement (nothing happens). The voices are good and perform the music well. Still, there is not much here for them to work with and the result is mediocre.
The music, while catchy at first, is simple, undeveloped and repetitive. The story lacks drama and movement. It is essentially a reverie on Lorca, not the man, his poetry, his sexuality, his art or politics but just some tired ahistorical cliches about freedom and fighting facism climaxing in his assassination. And just like the music, if you missed the obvious don't worry they will play it again, and again, and again.
I'm sorry there is just nothing new or interesting here. The music and story are simple cliches in a slick packaging for shallow mutli-cultural consumption. No difficult ideas to promt thought or conversation, no dissonant music to interfere with light entertainment. It would make great background music for an animated cartoon. But I expect a little more from something that aspires to call itself opera.
Free Music Review: Oh, my!
Hit: 5 Stars
If you consider eating at Taco Bell as dining on fine Spanish cuisine, this is for you.
If you enjoy hearing every Spanish musical cliche known to man, and then some, this is for you.
If you like sound effects, MTV-style musical glitz and are an avid follower of Spanish novellas, this is for you.
If the music of Soler, Falla, Albeniz, Granados, Gerhard, Ginastera, John Adams--and yes, also the Gypsy Kings--is unfamiliar to you, this is for you.
Five stars for deception.
Free Music Review: Keeping Lorca Alive
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a very remarkable opera -the first one- by Osvaldo Golijov. Ainadamar means 'fountain of tears' in Arabic, and it is also the name of an ancient well near Granada, where the poet Federico Garc?a Lorca was killed by the fascists in 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. The opera is divided in three parts called images: 1. Mariana, 2. Federico, 3. Margarita. Mariana referes to Mariana Pineda, one of the plays Lorca wrote that tells the story of Mariana Pineda, a revolutionary martyr of the 19th century. The second part is about Lorca, from the moment he refuses to go to Cuba with Margarita (and save his life), to the moment he is arrested and killed. The last part is about Margarita Xirgu at the end of his life, when she is keeping the history and the legend of Lorca alive by representing his plays.
In the style of Golijov, this music merges different styles (Jewish, Muslim, and Spanish music). Ruiz Alonso (the arresting officer) is a flamenco singer (Cante Jondo), and Margarita Xirgu is the soprano and Osvaldo's muse Dawn Upshaw. There is a good balance among the three parts of the opera and the three main characters in it (Lorca, Xirgu, and Nuria, a student who will maintain Lorca's life and art alive).
This CD comes with an introduction by Alex Ross and a synopsis by Peter Sellars. The libretto was written by David Henry Hwang in English, and Golijov translated it into Spanish. This is very odd, since the music is sung in Spanish and usually the librettos are written in the language the music is going to be sung. Also, the CD contains pictures of Golijov, Upshaw (2), Lorca, Xirgu, and two stage pictures of a live representation. The CD cover (as you can see) represents Margarita Xirgu in tears in the style of Lorca's drawings. It was designed by Hisako Moriyama. This CD is a world premiere recording by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra directed by Robert Spano and I strongly recommend it to opera aficionados, classical music lovers, and anybody interested in Lorca and the Spanish Civil War. Thanks for reading.
P.S. If you like my review vote YES. You can read all my other reviews if you wish to. I modestly write them to help people form an opinion about movies, music and books, but if nobody reads them (if you don't vote I do not know if you did) there is no point in writing them
Free Music Review: Mesmerizing, tantalizing - a must have for your collection!
Hit: 5 Stars
In all fairness, I should first admit that I am in general not a fan of atonal, discordant "contemporary classical" music. Believe me when I say that this masterwork is not that. I had the privilege of seeing this masterpiece performed last year in Atlanta by Robert Spano conducting the Atlanta Symphony (with, I believe, all of the same performers who are on the CD). The live performance was truly captivating - it incorporated a large screen with striking images, the Spanish guitar players were quite interesting to watch (especially for those of us accustomed to orchestral performances), and Dawn Upshaw mesmerized the audience as much visually as she did vocally.
When the CD was released, I was initially hesitant to buy it, because I was concerned that it would not live up to the live performance. I am glad that I did finally buy it because I was very wrong. It is every bit as emotionally undulating as the visual performance - to me that is a confirmation of the strength of the vocal and instrumental composition. Yes, as one of the more negative reviewers points out, it is true that you can hear the influence of composers who came before Mr. Golijov, but great music is built on a historical foundation, and Mr. Golijov created something entirely new and remarkably appealing. It is an instant classic, equally good played very loudly on your stereo, or listened to on headphones.
Free Music Review: An opera Beginner
Hit: 5 Stars
I don't know if you can call this work an opera but you can definitely call it a masterpiece. The story based on the life of Federico Garcia Lorca is touching full of emotions and historical remembrances.
The music is very different from what people are expecting from an opera but is still beautiful. I have to admit that the more I listen to this work the more I like it. If this opera was a book it would be the book I always keep in my bedside table.
Just give it a chance you won't regret