Los diamantes de la corona
F. Camprodón – F. A.
Barbieri
Madrid, Teatro de la Zarzuela
(29
April 2010)
Short review
by Enrique Mejías
García
They’ve waited more than seventy years, but at last they’re shining again. Indeed it may seem surprising that Madrid hasn’t seen Los diamantes de la corona (“The Crown Diamonds”) since the lost Teatro Fontalba de la Gran Vía staged the work in 1939. Here in the 21st century it’s to be seen at Teatro de la Zarzuela, but with the feeling that the audience has travelled back through time to attend a performance at the Teatro Circo in 1854. Close your eyes … and open them again to be transported into the magical, almost fairytale world that José Carlos Plaza has designed for these Diamantes, a staging that in its traditional, period charm has managed to break the mould and put the Teatro de la Zarzuela once again in the vanguard. No doubt his success has been to coordinate work of his collaborators, Pedro Moreno for the exquisite costumes, and Francisco Leal for the acclaimed settings inspired by classical models of Ferri, Soler Rovirosa, Busato, Ciceri and Percier.
Although
opera has already been field testing this kind of resurrected
nineteenth-century theatrical pomp (think of the celebrated Aida at the
Liceu), Plaza’s delicious craft with Los diamantes de la corona
is completely unprecedented in the world of zarzuela. Tired by quasi-affluent
or half-hearted flirtations with contemporary stagings, perhaps the audience is
eager to sit up and watch concepts which – though primarily classical
– are impeccable in artistic and theatrical effectiveness. And you
can’t pick holes in it: Los diamantes is a fairy tale with a
happy ending, the story of an outlaw queen suspended between the charm of
Auber’s opéra-comique and a new Hispanic model named, at
Barbieri's own whim, “zarzuela”.
Perhaps these
Teatro de la Zarzuela Diamantes will appeal more to operaphiles than
traditional zarzueleros. That would be a pity, because probably the
theatre’s advertising strategies have not been most appropriate for this
sort of staging. Audiences at the Teatro Real (where they’ve not had a
staging such as this for at least ten years) would enjoy this production and
Barbieri’s sequence of ensembles, duets, arias and romanzas
– which incidentally have been well put across by the first cast,
divas Carmen González and Lola
Casariego, tenor Carlos Cosías, bufo baritone
Fernando Latorre and Antonio
Ordóñez as a sensational Conde de Campomayor.
Cristóbal Soler’s musical
direction has proved well up to a staging of this resonance, although the cuts
in the cabaletta repeats are to be regretted.
Our London Editor Christopher Webber will describe the production in detail when he visits Madrid later this month, evaluate the two casts and share his thoughts about this exceptional artistic presentation. Meanwhile this is a taster of how things are going in Calle Jovellanos. I stress: this is an invitation you cannot refuse.
© Enrique Mejías García 2010
Los diamantes de la
corona (Music: Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, text: Francisco
Camprodón)
Cast: Catalina - Carmen
González (29-IV)/Yolanda Auyanet; Conde de Campomayor - Antonio
Ordóñez; Diana - Lola Casariego (29-IV)/Marina
Rodríguez-Cusí; Marqués de Sandoval - Carlos Cosías
(29-IV)/Albert Montserrat; Don Sebastián - César San
Martín; Rebolledo - Fernando Latorre; Antonio - Joseba Pinela;
Monedero/Un Ujier - Xavi Montesinos; Monedero/Un Criado - Jorge Torres;
Muñoz/Un Escribano - Joaquín Mancera; Monedero/Regente I - Pedro
Jeréz; Monedero/Regente II - Bosco Solana; Coro del Teatro de la
Zarzuela (d. Antonio Fauró); Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid;
Francisco Leal (designer: after Ferri, Soler Rovirosa, Busato, Ciceri y
Percier); Pedro Moreno (costumes); Francisco Leal/Pedro Yagüe (lighting);
José Carlos Plaza (d.); Cristóbal Soler (c.)
Edition by
Emilio Casares Rodicio (Ediciones y Publicaciones Autor SRL,
2010)
en español Retrospective by Christopher
Webber YouTube - extract from production,
No.12 Teatro de la Zarzuela - Libretto, casts and
booklet zarzuela.net front page
4th May 2010