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Las golondrinas |
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This material is © Christopher Webber, Blackheath, London, UK. Last updated March 5th 2000 |
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recommended
recording Las golondrinas, "The Wanderers" holds a unique place in the history of zarzuela. It is a no-holds barred verismo tragedy in three acts, comparatively unleavened by comic relief. At the time of the premiere (5th February 1914, Teatro Price, Madrid,) Usandizaga was 26 years old, and the almost unprecedented success of Las golondrinas made him overnight the golden hope of Spanish Opera. A year later he was dead. To what extent its composer's early demise has glamorised the reputation of his work it is difficult to say. Certainly Sierra's libretto, based on his own play Saltimbanquis ("mountebanks") is pretty squarely indebted to Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, though his three main characters are more subtle creations than Canio, Nedda and the rest. |
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Usandizaga's score certainly avails itself of verismo manners, specifically through some sophisticated post-Tristan harmonic twists, and his melodic inspiration is uneven. Still, there is a single-mindedness about this music, a focus of energy which makes it not quite like anything else in the repertoire. The great majority of zarzuelas - including some of the finest - sound at least twenty or so years behind the musical fashion of their time, but that cannot be said of Los golondrinas. There is a modernity about it which hasn't quite faded, and the best of Usandizaga's music remains haunting and tender to a special degree.
Act 1 - A
dressing cabin in the square of a small town in Castile. After the stirring
Preludio, we meet the touring theatre troupe come to provide a show for the
local fiesta. The leader of the company, Roberto, is a hardened drinker who has
known better days. With him are his young daughter Lina, a promising
singer-dancer; two bright hopefuls, Juanito and Boby; the beautiful leading
lady Cecilia; and Puck, talented mainspring of the operation (Escena:
"Aqui tiene usted la peluca".) Puck is involved with Cecilia, but
she is ambitious, sickened by the continual wandering from town to town, and
yearns for the wealth and fame her beauty deserves. Lina, who is herself
hopelessly in love with the handsome Puck, sees which way the wind is blowing,
and Cecilia tells her a little of her unhappiness (Dúo:
"Camino sempre...") Puck's love is no compensation for this living from
hand to mouth. Not for her the noble life of the road of which Puck sings so
passionately (Romanza: "Caminar, caminar".) His passion merely
irritates Cecilia (Dúo: "Fuego de paja en el viento",) her
frustration boils over into withering scorn, and Puck - goaded past breaking
point - hits her and rushes away in self-disgust. Young Lina meanwhile sings
sadly of her own unrequited passion, hoping that things will turn out for the
best (Romanza: "Me diches che ya no mi quieres".)
The crowd enters, ready to enjoy themselves at the show (Coro: "Noche clara de San Juan".) Lina, seeing Cecilia heading off with her suitcase, tries in vain to stop her from leaving them in the lurch. She tells Lina that she must have the money, fame and comforts which are now denied her, and Lina's plea that she is breaking Puck's heart falls on deaf ears (Escena: "No lo sé, voy un busca de algo".) Cecilia leaves. Lina, blaming herself and knowing she will have to break the news to Puck - who is out front starting his pitch for the show - consoles herself with the thought that perhaps, after all, things will fall out for the best.
Act 2 - A
theatre in a large city. The combined talents of Puck, Lina and the two
young comedians has attracted the interests of a powerful impresario, and now
they are to make their debut at his theatre in the capital as the "Family
Sanders" with a new dance-piece or pantomima put together by Boby and
based on the well-known characters and story of the Italian commedia
del'arte, Columbina-Lina, Harlequin-Puck, and Pulchinello. It is spring,
and Lina hopes that she and Puck can put old memories behind them
(Romanza: "En viejas memorias".)
Meanwhile Juanito, who is to play Pulchinello, has his own problems, being pestered beyond endurance by Puck's dresser Leonor and the whole of the admiring female chorus (Canción y Coro: "Juanito, Juanito, Juanito".) Lina confesses to Leonor that she loves Puck; but when the kindly dresser tells her that she is sure the feeling is reciprocated, Lina admits that deep down she knows he can feel no more than a brotherly love for her. Puck comes in with Juanito: all is ready for the stage show.
Their Pantomima, a substantial orchestral number incorporating mime action and a Serenata for Harlequin ("Columbina, Columbina bella") is a huge success. Another artist had been watching their triumphant performance: Cecilia, now herself wildly successful as "La Bella Nelly". With her powerful protector Count Stein in tow, she tells the impresario she wishes to join his company, an offer he cannot refuse. Puck and especially Lina are rapturously applauded, and things are looking up even for Roberto, who is regaining some of his old self-respect as nominal leader of the troupe (Coro y escena final: "¡Que Linda es Columbina!".) When he discovers Cecilia in the crowd, Puck moves towards her. The Count sweeps her away, and Lina tries to stop Puck from following, but he shakes her off violently and leaves.
Act 3 Scene
1 - Lina's dressing room. In spite of their triumph and his growing
affection for the faithful and increasingly famous Lina, Puck is remote and
distant from her (Dúo: "¡Oh, Puck!, Por tí mi
corazón".) Suddenly, he hears a familiar laugh from the dressing
room. His instant distraction at the sound of his old love fills Lina with
terrible foreboding. The unexpected return of Cecilia has divided the "Family
Sanders." Although Roberto is all for it, Lina is adamant "La Bella
Nelly" must not join the company, especially when Cecilia insolently tells
her she will reclaim Puck whenever she wants. Then Puck reappears and Lina,
seeing that her situation is hopeless, leaves him alone with her rival. Cecilia
spitefully goes along with his passionate avowals, pretending to feelings she
does not have. They slip away together (Dúo:"Cecilia...
¡Habla!",) after which a vibrant Intermedio recaps many of the
work's major melodies.
Scene 2 - The same. Lina returns to her dressing room, and when a clearly distraught Puck materialises and stammers out a final farewell, she demands to know what has happened. Puck decides to speak out (Dúo: "¡Adios!... Me fui con ella".) He tells her that when he took Cecilia into the wings and tried to kiss her, she laughed in his face (Solo: "¡Se reía!") and told him she loved another. Mad with jealous rage, Puck has strangled her. Lina is horrified, but still clings to her beloved when the police rush in with the full company to arrest him. Boby accuses Puck of Cecilia's murder, and he confesses. Before they are finally torn apart, Puck asks for and receives Lina's forgiveness (Final: "¡Estrella de min camino".) Heartbroken, she collapses into her father's arms as the curtain falls.