Transcript of the interview with Adeline Sire used in the Ainadamar CD Listening Guide
(Deutsche Grammophon 0006429-02)
General
1. Why is the opera called Ainadamar?
Ai
n
a
da
ma
rme
a
n
s“
f
ou
n
t
a
i
no
ft
e
a
r
s
”i
nAr
a
bi
c
.I
t
’
sar
e
a
lf
ount
a
i
nt
ha
twi
t
ne
s
s
e
dbe
a
ut
iful
harmony in the 12th c
e
n
t
ur
y
;i
t
’
saf
ount
a
i
nt
owhi
c
hAr
a
bpoe
t
squot
e
dbyLor
c
awr
ot
epoe
ms
to the beauty, to the peace, to the inspiration, that that fountain provided to people, when these
three cultures coexisted in the soul of Spain: the Moslem, the Jewish and the Christian. And
i
t
’
saf
oun
t
a
i
nt
h
a
t–eight centuries later –wi
t
ne
s
s
e
dt
hemur
d
e
roft
hi
sg
r
e
a
tpo
e
t
,s
ot
ha
t
’
s
wh
ywec
a
l
l
e
di
t“
f
ou
n
t
a
i
noft
e
a
r
s
”
.I
t
’
saf
oun
t
a
i
nt
ha
ti
st
hewi
t
ne
s
sofh
a
r
monya
ndt
he
witness of barbarity.
2. Musical roots
Lorca said that the greatest tragedy in the history of Spain was the expulsion of Moslems and
Jews. He said that Spain, that had been a great empire and a centre for civilisation, became a
little, chauvinistic, provincial country after that occurrence. So the opera tries to bring back
onto the surface all those elements that created the richness of Spain, musically und culturally:
J
e
wi
s
h,Mo
o
r
,Ch
r
i
s
t
i
a
n
,f
l
a
me
n
c
o,g
y
ps
y
.Th
a
t
’
swh
a
tt
heope
r
ai
st
r
y
i
n
gt
odo.
3. Myth and legacy
There are many operas that are about myths, right? And Ainadamar is about how a myth is
actually being born, how Lorca that was a breathing, living, laughing, loving person became a
symbol, a myth - a
n
dhowwec
a
nb
r
i
nghi
mb
a
c
kt
obet
ha
tma
n.Andi
t
’
sa
l
s
oa
nope
r
aa
bo
u
t
the passing of a legacy, how Margarita Xirgu, the actress who was the muse of Lorca and the
main interpreter of Lorca in his life and after his death, realizes that she cannot go on any
more and she begins to teach and passes her work to her students. That legacy goes on and on.
Ana
r
t
i
s
t
’
swor
ki
sn
e
v
e
rf
i
n
i
s
h
e
d;i
ta
l
wa
y
sha
st
oc
ont
i
nuei
nt
hene
xtg
e
n
e
r
a
t
i
on.
Commentary on every track in the CD
1. Preludio de Agua y Caballo
The prelude starts with the sound of deep water - the sound of the fountain Ainadamar - and
trumpets in the distance.
Peter Sellars, the director who staged the final version of Ainadamar, calls that theme of the
t
r
u
mp
e
t
st
het
he
meof“
woun
de
df
r
e
e
d
om”
,be
c
a
us
ei
ti
sa
c
t
ua
l
l
ywha
tMa
r
g
a
r
i
t
as
i
ng
sa
ss
h
e
dies at the end of the opera - “
Ia
mf
r
e
e
dom,wounde
da
ndbl
e
e
di
nghope
”
- bu
ti
t
’
st
hes
a
me
notes, the same theme.
Af
t
e
rt
het
r
ump
e
t
s
’d
i
s
a
p
p
e
a
r
i
n
ge
c
h
o,wehe
a
rahor
s
e
,af
ur
i
oushor
s
eg
a
l
l
opi
ngt
owa
r
dsus
,
that in turn becomes a flamenco horse. I mean: the hooves of the horse move into a flamenco
rhythm and then the percussion of the orchestra takes over.
Copyright ©2006 Osvaldo Golijov, Adeline Sire, Deutsche Grammophon
All rights reserved.
2. Balada
The ballad is actually a popular poem that Lorca knew. It was a song –Ime
a
n,Idon’
tknow
what music the song had, but that song he used as an opener to his play Mariana Pineda. The
words of the ballad are premonitory of the fate both of Mariana but also of Federico, and they
s
a
y
:“
Ay,
q
uédí
at
a
nt
r
i
s
t
ee
nGr
a
na
da
,queal
a
spi
e
dr
a
sha
c
í
al
l
or
a
r
/Wha
tas
a
dda
yi
twa
si
n
Gr
a
n
a
d
a
;e
v
e
nt
h
es
t
one
sb
e
g
a
nt
oc
r
y
”
.
The chorus functions there almost like a Greek chorus, predicting what is going to happen,
announcing, commenting and so forth.
3. Mariana, tus ojos
Al
lt
h
i
snu
mbe
r“
Ma
r
i
a
na
,t
usoj
o
s
/Ma
r
i
a
na
,y
oure
y
e
s
”i
sbu
i
l
tonar
umba
,b
e
c
a
us
es
he
,
Margarita, left Spain to live the rest of her life in Latin America. So all this number is based
o
nar
u
mb
a
,b
uti
t
’
sa
l
mo
s
tl
i
k
eaGr
e
e
kr
umba
,be
c
a
us
et
hec
hor
ust
a
unt
sMa
r
g
a
r
i
t
a
,t
he
chorus echoes lines of Mariana, and Margarita is haunted by the fates of herself and of
Federico García Lorca.
Ac
t
u
a
l
l
y
,t
h
i
sda
n
c
ec
a
nc
r
e
a
t
eas
o
r
tofhy
pn
ot
i
cr
hy
t
hm,l
i
keRa
v
e
l
’
sBol
e
r
o,f
ori
ns
t
a
nc
e
,
b
uto
nt
h
eo
t
h
e
rha
ndi
t
’
sav
e
r
ypo
p
ul
a
rt
h
i
ng
,s
oy
ou’
l
lhe
a
rt
hec
l
a
r
i
ne
tr
e
a
l
l
ypl
a
y
i
ngi
na
jazzy manner that is completely not symphonic.
4. Bar Albor de Madrid
Margarita first met Lorca at a bar in Madrid. And this is a historical scene. And Lorca offered
h
e
rwhi
s
ke
ya
n
ds
hes
wor
ea
nds
hes
a
i
d:“
Thi
swhi
s
ke
yt
a
s
t
e
sl
i
keg
a
s
ol
i
ne
”
.SoIt
houg
hti
t
would be good to use that line.
This is a scene full of fun –they are both relatively young and they cannot even begin to
imagine what a horrible fate awaits them. Margarita and Lorca are having this raucous
d
i
a
l
o
g
u
ea
n
dt
he
ns
hes
t
op
shi
mc
ol
da
nds
a
y
s
:“
Wa
i
t
,wa
i
t
,wa
i
t
:Idowa
ntt
opl
a
yMa
r
i
a
n
a
Pineda in your play, because this great woman, murdered 100 years ago, has come back to life
in your folk drama, bringing with her the pure air of freedom that our people today must
b
r
e
a
t
h
e
.
”
5. Desde mi ventana
Th
i
sa
r
i
a“
De
s
demiv
e
n
t
a
n
a
/Fr
o
m mywi
n
dow”–whe
nIwr
ot
et
heope
r
a
,Idi
dn’
tknowi
fi
t
would work as an opera, but I wanted at least to have one great aria. And I was listening both
to a lot of Handel great arias and Italian - you know, Donizetti, Bellini, all these people that
knew how to write a great tune with a beautiful climax and tear your heart - s
oi
t
’
sav
e
r
yo
l
dfashioned concept.
The aria is sung by Lorca and he simply says that when he was nine years old, in sleepless
nights he would go to his window and watch the statue of Mariana Pineda. And Mariana
Pi
ne
d
awa
sc
a
l
l
e
d(
a
n
di
t
’
swr
i
t
t
e
nonhe
rs
t
a
t
ue
)t
hes
y
mboloft
hepur
i
t
yoft
heRe
vol
ut
i
on.
But for Lorca, he says she was not so pure, not so grey and not so cold like a statue. Actually
she would come back to life and her spirit would flow towards the window and give him a
kiss and he would fall asleep. So the aria is basically about the world of childhood in which
Copyright ©2006 Osvaldo Golijov, Adeline Sire, Deutsche Grammophon
All rights reserved.
you animate inanimate objects and a world that inspires you, especially in a sensitive kid like
Lorca was.
Towards the end of the aria, Margarita and Nuria enter. That means they enter forty years
later, so to speak, but they start commenting and saying: Did Lorca know then, when he was
talking about Mariana, that his fate will mirror her fate? And Lorca keeps singing about
Mariana, and basically the aria becomes a trio.
6. Muerte a Caballo
Th
ef
i
r
s
tt
i
met
h
a
tweh
e
a
rRu
i
zAl
o
ns
o,wea
r
ei
ns
i
deMa
r
g
a
r
i
t
a
’
she
a
d.Wehe
a
rame
mor
y
,
t
h
eme
mor
yo
fh
e
rv
oi
c
es
a
y
i
ng
:“
Gi
v
ehi
mu
p,g
i
v
eLor
c
aup!
”Sohec
o
me
sr
i
di
ngt
ha
thor
s
e
o
fde
a
t
h
,s
oIc
a
l
lt
ha
ts
c
e
ne“
Mue
r
t
eaCa
ba
l
l
o
/De
a
t
honHor
s
e
ba
c
k”
.
Ramón Ruiz Alonso was another historical character. He was the man that arrested and
murdered Lorca. He is sung in the opera by a fantastic flamenco singer called Jesús Montoya.
Lorca loved flamenco, but flamenco was also associated with very reactionary times in Spain.
Sot
h
a
t
’
st
hev
o
i
c
eofRui
zAl
ons
o,av
oi
c
et
ha
ti
sa
sf
a
t
e
da
sLor
c
ahi
ms
e
l
f
.
7. Balada
The balada recurs four times in the piece and signals that actually time has not passed - I
mean that we are still in that first minute of the opera - but the second balada is a crazed,
frenetic reprise of the first balada, because now Margarita is haunted, losing her mind in a
way, so everything starts to spin furiously inside her head.
Towards the end of the second balada, we hear for the first time the radio messages from the
Fa
l
a
ng
e
.I
’
l
lr
e
a
dy
o
uone
:“
We
’
l
le
xt
e
r
mi
na
t
et
hes
e
e
dsoft
heRe
v
ol
ut
i
on,e
v
e
ni
nt
h
ewomb
s
o
ft
h
e
i
rmo
t
he
r
s
”
.Th
i
si
st
h
ek
i
ndofha
t
r
e
dt
ha
tf
ue
l
l
e
dt
he
se people.
Th
i
si
de
ao
fRa
d
i
oFa
l
a
ng
e
:Ime
a
n
,Idon’
tknowi
ft
he
r
ewa
ss
uc
hat
hi
nga
sRa
di
oFa
l
a
ng
e
.
But all these messages were printed actually in a number of Spanish newspapers in 1936 and
were quotations from Falangist officers.
8. Quiero arrancarme los ojos
“
Qu
i
e
r
oa
r
r
a
n
c
a
r
mel
o
so
j
o
s
/Iwa
n
tt
ot
e
a
rou
tmye
y
e
s
.
”Thi
si
swha
tMa
r
ga
r
i
t
af
e
e
l
swhe
n
she remembers these messages of the Radio Falange, when she remembers how she tried to
convince Lorca to flee Spain, to go with her to Cuba. She was going to go on tour with a
n
umb
e
ro
fLor
c
a
’
sp
l
a
y
s
,t
oc
r
ownhi
mi
ng
l
or
y
,buthes
a
i
dno.
Th
i
sn
umbe
ri
sar
e
c
i
t
a
t
i
v
e
,buti
t
’
sa
l
s
oi
naps
e
ud
o-Greek style, you know, like a tragic
Gr
e
e
khe
r
oi
n
ec
on
s
ume
db
ywha
twec
oul
dc
a
l
ls
ur
v
i
v
or
’
sgui
l
t
.Iwa
nt
e
dmus
i
cally to simply
represent the kind of melodic curve that a woman weeping would have and echoes in the
horns in the orchestra, I mean like really something desolate.
9. A la Habana
“
Al
aHa
b
a
n
a
”f
u
n
c
t
i
o
nsa
sal
i
t
t
l
eo
a
s
i
si
nt
hepi
e
c
e
.Ac
t
ua
l
l
y,Idi
dn’
twrite this number: I
asked my friend and the great flamenco cajón player Gonzalo Grau to write it and I gave him
a theme and the words and ideas. But he actually composed it, and we needed this relief
Copyright ©2006 Osvaldo Golijov, Adeline Sire, Deutsche Grammophon
All rights reserved.
before tragedy strikes in full form. So this is really a duet of the possibility: what will happen
if we went together to Havana? And this beautiful number is written in the Cuban style of the
30s.
Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
at
r
i
e
st
oe
n
t
i
c
eLor
c
at
oc
omewi
t
hhe
rt
oHa
v
a
naa
n
ds
hes
a
y
s
:“
Come
,t
he
r
ewi
l
lbe
the possibility of f
r
e
e
d
om,o
fp
e
a
c
e
,ofj
oy
”
,a
ndLor
c
adr
e
a
mswi
t
hhe
ra
n
dt
he
ns
a
y
s
:“
No,I
wo
n
’
tg
o
!
”An
dt
hi
si
sh
owhes
e
a
l
shi
sf
a
t
e
.
10. Quiero cantar entre las explosiones
Lo
r
c
as
e
a
l
sh
i
sf
a
t
e
,s
a
y
i
ng“
Iwa
ntt
os
t
a
yhe
r
ei
nSp
a
i
n.Iwi
l
ls
i
nga
mi
ds
tt
hee
xp
l
os
i
ons
,I
will sing the song of the dead. Spain is a bull burning alive, Spain is a people draped in a
b
l
a
c
kv
e
i
l
.
”
Lo
r
c
ai
ss
i
n
g
i
nga
l
lt
h
a
ti
naf
l
a
me
nc
or
hy
t
hm.Ac
t
ua
l
l
yi
t
’
si
nf
l
ue
nc
e
dbyf
l
a
me
nc
o,a
nd
under Lorca and then the pleading Margarita, the orchestra builds and builds until it becomes
t
h
i
sh
ug
ev
ol
c
a
no
.I
t
’
sa
l
mos
tEg
y
p
t
i
a
ni
nawa
y
,bu
te
ndsupi
nt
hef
or
m ofwha
twec
a
l
lt
h
e
“
f
l
a
me
nc
ot
a
c
on
e
o
”
,y
ouk
n
ow,t
h
eda
nc
eo
ft
hehe
e
l
s
.
And then on top of it, the radio messages of death, of hatred, of these Falange generals.
Ta
l
k
i
n
ga
bo
u
tt
h
eRe
pu
bl
i
c
a
n
s
,t
he
ys
a
y
:“
I
ft
he
yhi
deunde
rt
heg
r
ound,wewi
l
ldi
gt
he
mu
p.
An
di
fwef
i
n
dt
h
e
md
e
a
d,wewi
l
lk
i
l
lt
he
ma
g
a
i
n.
”Andt
he
nt
hi
st
hi
ng:“
Don
’
tbea
f
r
a
i
d:I
give you permission to kill them like dogs, and y
ourha
ndswi
l
lbec
l
e
a
n.
”The
s
eme
s
s
a
g
e
s
allowed people like Ruiz Alonso to make justice with his own hands.
11. Arresto
Th
ea
r
r
e
s
ts
c
e
n
ei
sa
l
s
ot
a
k
e
nf
r
om r
e
a
lwi
t
ne
s
s
e
s
’a
c
c
ount
s
:Ime
a
n,Lor
c
awe
n
ti
nt
ohi
di
ng
,
actually to a Falangist family that were friends of his family. And the women of this family –
the Rosales family –tried to protect him from Ruiz Alonso who came to seize him. So the
scene is a little bit like a ritual, you know, with Ruiz Alonso throwing a litany of accusations
to Lorca, the Ros
a
l
e
swome
nr
e
p
e
a
t
i
ngi
nar
i
t
ua
l
i
s
t
i
cwa
y“
Wha
tc
r
i
med
i
dhec
ommi
t
?
”
,a
nd
Margarita, thirty years later, remembering all those accusations and responding to them. So
i
t
’
sad
i
a
l
o
g
uea
c
r
o
s
st
i
mebe
t
we
e
nMa
r
g
a
r
i
t
aa
ndRui
zAl
ons
o.
Ruiz Alonso says a list o
fa
c
c
us
a
t
i
ons
,s
uc
ha
s
:“
Hei
sa
ne
ne
myofSpa
i
n;hei
saf
a
g
g
o
t
;he
has done more harm with his pen than many others with their weapons; he is a lover of
Rus
s
i
a
.
”Toe
a
c
hoft
he
s
ef
a
l
s
ea
c
c
us
a
t
i
ons
,Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
ar
e
s
p
ondsf
r
om h
e
rv
a
nt
a
g
e
-point of
1969, Montevideo.
12. La Fuente de las Lágrimas
Af
t
e
rLor
c
a
’
sa
r
r
e
s
t
,h
ewa
st
a
ke
nt
ot
hef
ount
a
i
noft
e
a
r
s
,t
oAi
na
da
ma
r
.Andhes
pe
ntt
he
night there, and the following morning he was executed. So what we hear after the arrest is
the song of the fountain. We hear the water drops, the voices of the fountain, and we hear
Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
ade
s
c
r
i
bi
n
gLo
r
c
a
’
se
nt
r
a
n
c
ei
n
t
ot
hea
r
e
aoft
hef
o
unt
a
i
n,f
l
a
n
ke
dbyabul
l
f
i
g
h
t
e
r
and by a teacher who were also imprisoned.
In her vision, Margarita describes Lorca almost as Jesus being led to Golgotha. Also the fact
that he was murdered with two other people, one to his right and one to his left, not to
me
n
t
i
o
nt
ha
thewa
sun
j
u
s
t
l
ya
c
c
us
e
d,a
s
s
oc
i
a
t
e
shi
mt
oJ
e
s
us
.Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
as
a
y
s
:“
Soupt
ha
t
Copyright ©2006 Osvaldo Golijov, Adeline Sire, Deutsche Grammophon
All rights reserved.
hillside you carried your cross; on your left is a schoolteacher, on your right a bullfighter, and
t
h
ef
ou
n
t
a
i
ni
t
s
e
l
fb
e
g
a
nt
oc
r
y
.
”
13. Confesión
Lorca and the bullfighter and the teacher spent a long night before they were murdered in the
early morning of August 19, 1936. And there was a guard, Javier José Tripaldi –this is also a
historical fact –who actually offered him a cigarette, and he thought he was being a good
p
e
r
s
o
nbys
a
y
i
n
g
:“
Lo
ok,I
’
m ag
o
odCa
t
hol
i
ca
ndImus
tt
e
l
ly
ou,y
ou’
l
lbee
xe
c
ut
e
d
.Why
d
on
’
ty
ouma
k
eaf
i
n
a
lc
o
nf
e
s
s
i
on–youknow,notofy
ourc
r
i
me
s
,butt
oGod?
”
Surrounding them, there are voices praying to the Virgin Mary. And these are actually voices
from the Mexican area of Chiapas. They are praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
I thought that the haunting, hypnotising character of these voices would bring to mind that
Lorca was not the only one that died during that civil war. He is the most famous murdered
person in the Spanish civil war, but thousands upon thousands of people died. So those voices
are the voices of the dead and the soon-to-be-dead in that war.
During this scene Lorca tries to remember this prayer. He starts the prayer, fumbles the
words, starts crying in fear; at the same time, the guard tries to guide him through the prayer,
whereas the bullfighter s
a
y
s
:“
The
r
ei
snoGod,onl
yt
hebul
l
,o
nl
ymyc
a
pe
,onl
ymys
wor
d
,
o
nl
ymymo
t
he
rd
r
o
wni
ngi
nmybl
o
od.
”Andt
h
et
e
a
c
he
rr
e
f
l
e
c
t
sonhowmuc
hgoodwor
kt
he
g
o
v
e
r
nme
ntha
ddon
ei
nt
het
woy
e
a
r
st
ha
tt
he
ywe
r
ei
npowe
r
:“
Thi
r
t
e
e
nt
hous
a
nds
c
hool
s
were built i
nt
woy
e
a
r
s
”
,hes
a
y
s
.“
Ands
oma
nyc
h
i
l
dr
e
nnowknowhowt
or
e
a
d,a
ndt
h
e
y
wi
l
lk
nowho
wt
oa
s
kt
h
eq
ue
s
t
i
on
s
!
”
14. Interludio de Balazos y Lamento por la Muerte de Federico
It
h
ou
g
ht
:f
ort
h
emur
d
e
rofLo
r
c
a
,wha
tt
odo
,wha
tt
odo?An
dIf
e
l
t
:l
e
t
’
ss
t
a
rt with just one
gunshot! So I traced in a library of sounds a gunshot from the 1930s, and we hear that
g
u
ns
h
o
t
,a
ndweh
e
a
rt
hes
he
l
lf
a
l
l
i
n
gt
ot
heg
r
ound.Andt
he
nIt
houg
ht
:l
e
t
’
sdoawhol
e
,
entire piece based on this sound, where one gunshot becomes thousands and thousands of
gunshots that killed thousands of people.
It starts almost with random isolated rhythms like all wars start, but then it becomes this semiflamenco dance of bullets. And of top of it we hear a lament for the death of Lorca.
Jesús Montoya is singing this heart-breaking lament that he improvised on top of the
gunshots, but he is not Ruiz Alonso any more: he is the flamenco voice of pain.
15. Balada
The third time that the ballad appears, it is now heard as a dirge, as a funeral dirge. And
Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
aha
sa
l
r
e
a
dyc
ol
l
a
p
s
e
dun
de
rt
h
ewe
i
g
htofhe
rme
mor
i
e
s
.Nur
i
a
,Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
a
’
s
student, is tremendously concerned. She realizes that Margarita is going to die. And Margarita
in her semi-d
e
l
i
r
i
u
ma
s
ksNu
r
i
a
:“
Wha
tdi
dIt
e
a
c
hy
ou?
”AndNur
i
as
a
y
s –and this is
something I know from the books on Margarita Xirgu - “
Ac
t
or
sa
r
eno
tl
i
k
epa
i
nt
i
ng
sor
s
t
a
t
u
e
s
.Whe
nwed
i
e
,wh
e
nt
hep
e
opl
et
ha
the
a
r
dourv
oi
c
e
sdi
e
,wea
r
eg
one
.
”And
Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
as
a
y
s
:“
He
l
pmet
og
oons
t
a
g
e
!
”Ma
r
ga
r
i
t
ar
e
a
l
i
z
e
st
ha
ts
hewill not be able to finish
her work, that she has actually passed the torch to a next generation.
Copyright ©2006 Osvaldo Golijov, Adeline Sire, Deutsche Grammophon
All rights reserved.
16. De mi fuente tú emerges
As Margarita begins to die, she has the vision of Lorca coming to talk to her. You know, in
the same way that the statue of Mariana spoke to Lorca, now the dead Lorca is speaking to
Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
aa
ndc
o
mf
o
r
t
i
n
gh
e
ra
n
ds
a
y
i
ng
:“
Ma
r
g
a
r
i
t
a
,t
ha
nky
ouf
orpa
s
s
i
ngmyl
e
g
a
c
y
,f
or
k
e
e
p
i
n
gmywor
k
sa
l
i
v
ei
nLa
t
i
nAme
r
i
c
a
,whi
l
eIwa
sf
or
bi
dde
ni
nSpa
i
n.
”Sos
h
ef
i
nds
communion with the spirit of Lorca, she finds that her life, those thirty years that she survived
Lorca, were not in vain: that she actually kept him alive.
Lorca tells Margarita: "Your spirit lives in each one of your students. You and Mariana
Pi
ne
d
aa
r
ea
l
r
e
a
dyo
nea
n
dt
hes
a
me
.
”
17. Tome su mano
For the first time, Nuria the student is able to see what Margarita sees, so she actually talks to
t
h
es
p
i
r
i
tofLo
r
c
a
,a
nds
h
et
e
l
l
st
h
es
pi
r
i
tofLor
c
a
:“
Come
,t
a
kehe
rha
n
d,t
a
keh
e
rwi
t
hy
ou,
t
a
kemewi
t
hy
ou
!
”Sos
h
eha
st
h
es
a
mev
i
s
i
on as her teacher.
18. Crepúsculo delirante
At the end of the play Mariana Pineda, before the final scene, Lorca has instructions for the
lighting to echo the delirious orange of the Granada sunset. So before the death of Margarita, I
decided to have an orchestral interlude featuring the two guitars playing in an Arabic way, in
which we reproduce that light, that orange light.
19. Doy mi sangre
“
He
r
ei
smyb
l
oo
ds
h
e
df
o
rt
h
e
e
,dr
i
nki
ta
ndt
e
l
lmys
t
or
y
.
”Th
os
ea
r
et
hel
a
s
twor
dsof
Mariana Pineda, but now they are sung by the three main characters of the opera: Nuria, the
student who will carry on the legacy of Margarita and Lorca, Margarita who is dying and
Lorca who has died, but who has written those words in his play Mariana Pineda.
These three generations, Lorca dead in 1936, Margarita about to die in 1969, and Nuria, a
young student, become one and the same.
The music starts almost in a Straussian manner to me, Rosenkavalier-like, but then it goes on
to Purcell. To me it resembles the death of Dido: that majesty, that love, that grace.
I
t
’
san
umbe
ra
bou
tf
i
ndi
n
gg
r
a
c
er
i
g
htbe
f
or
ede
a
t
h
,f
i
ndi
ngt
hes
e
r
e
ni
t
yt
odi
e
.Andt
ha
t
’
s
wh
a
tMa
r
g
a
r
i
t
af
i
n
dswhe
ns
h
es
a
y
s“
Adi
ós
,a
di
ós
.
”Shei
sa
tpe
a
c
e
;s
h
ef
i
na
l
l
yha
ss
he
da
l
l
her fears, all her misgivings, and enters the realm of death with great dignity, in the same way
that Mariana died.
20. Yo soy la libertad
The orchestra mourns the death of Margarita, then becomes furious.
Th
e
nt
h
ev
oi
c
eo
fMa
r
g
a
r
i
t
a
,t
h
es
p
i
r
i
t
,s
i
ng
s
:“
Yos
oyl
al
i
be
r
t
a
d/Ia
mf
r
e
e
do
m!
”
Then we establish an orchestral fountain of tears. The chorus sings a mournful lullaby, the
trumpet brings again the opening theme from the prelude: the theme of wounded freedom.
The voices of the fountain sing again the ballad of Mariana Pineda. They sing:“
Ay
,quédí
a
tan triste en Granada, que a las piedras hacía llorar/ What a sad day it was in Granada, even
t
h
es
t
one
sbe
g
a
nt
oc
r
y
!
”
And everything dissolves into the water of the fountain.
Copyright ©2006 Osvaldo Golijov, Adeline Sire, Deutsche Grammophon
All rights reserved.