Marina E. Arrieta | Opera

Description

Nineteenth-century Spanish composers were deeply concerned with creating a truly Spanish opera. They resented the Italian monopoly on opera. The attempts born of this noble endeavor far outnumbered the achievements. Of course, there are excellent Spanish operas, but it is striking that one, born as a zarzuela from the pen of a composer who left for Italy because he couldn't find the musical training he sought in Spain, shines above them all.

Emilio Arrieta returned to Spain with the reputation of an opera composer. The harsh reality of an unreceptive public led him to dedicate himself to composing zarzuelas (Arrieta was extremely adept at changing his tune depending on the prevailing trends). His Marina turned out so impressive that the tenor Enrico Tamberlick—another Italian involved—suggested he revise it and transform it into a full-fledged opera, and as such, it entered the repertoire.

An extraordinary vocal trio leads the cast of Marina, the long-awaited Spanish opera that fearlessly holds its own against its contemporaries from all over the world, as it arrives at the Teatro de la Maestranza. On stage, three of the greatest names in Spanish opera at their artistic peak: soprano Sabina Púertolas, tenor Ismael Jordi, and baritone Juan Jesús Rodríguez, drawing all the power and brilliance from Emilio Arrieta's score. A grand opera made in Spain.