OPERA

FRANCISCO DE GOYA: CON LA MÚSICA A OTRA PARTE

Francisco de Goya: going elsewhere through music (2022)
OPERA FOR CHOIR, ENSEMBLE AND ACTORS
Text: José Luis Cano and Alberto Castrillo-Ferrer
Duration: 1h
Commision: Fundación Goya en Aragón.
Premiere: 24/03/2022.
Auditorio Eduardo del Pueyo (Zaragoza).

PROGRAM NOTES

Throughout Los Disparates (The follies) we see what Goya’s last days before his exile in France might have been like. He struggles to escape and leave his ghosts behind on a journey of no return, his personal decline in a divided Spain controlled by the Inquisition.
This scenic-musical folly oscillates continuously between the crudest tragedy and the most satirical comedy. The music moves between Goya’s inner and outer worlds, between his thoughts and his circumstances. The result is a totally heterogeneous work where the different sonorities dialogue, mix and confront each other. It is a reflection of Goya’s situation, which ends up being at the centre of his conflicts with power, with society and with himself.

OVERTURE

After a day of intense work, Goya leaves his studio to go to sleep. His ghosts appear as dying troops in The Disasters of War. These fallen soldiers are transformed into Goya’s various follies and paintings, his studio comes to life at night. After a civil war, a caning duel divides them into two groups: the court and the populace, and musical themes from the play are quoted. It all culminates in a failed climax: Goya’s lost-erection, a symbol of the nation’s situation.

ACT I

Goya and Leocadia decide to go back to bed after an argument. Goya’s ghosts parody them singing an altered Marlbrough went to war, announcing the exile he longs for even though it may have terrible consequences. The choir plays with “Goya” as if he were a puppet, he gets up agitated, putting an end to his nocturnal delirium.

ACT II

Dawn breaks, the music of the absolutist protests is playing in the street. Goya demands his unpaid salaries from the administration, to no effect. He meets The Loyalty, a character from Los Disparates, which only he sees. The absolutists burst in, calling for the return of Fernando VII with a chant that is strangely up-to-date. They sing The Absolutist’s Polo a collage of the Smuggler’s Polo from the scenic tonadilla El poeta calculista (1805) by Manuel V. del Pópulo García and the Minuetto (1775) from L. Boccherini’s String Quintet No.5 Op.11. The music of the court is mixed with the music of the populace. Goya portrays Ferdinand VII assisted by The Loyalty. A string quartet plays on stage an interactive reinterpretation of the Allegro giusto (1795) from L. Boccherini’s String Quartet No.3 Op.52. Goya expresses his tiredness at The Loyalty, he persists in obtaining a licence to go into exile.

ACT III

Goya paints wildly in his studio, trapped in a psychedelic nightmare. He returns to confront the administration when he awakens from his trance, not succeeding in his aim. The Inquisition judges Goya for the Naked Maja, which is considered obscene. Finally, an inquisitor from the public jury granted him the licence to leave Spain. Administration and Inquisition are one and the same. The ceremony ends. Amen and Farewell.

EPILOGUE

Goya, Leocadia and Rosarito prepare to leave. Ghosts torment Goya in his last nightmare. He bids farewell to his ungrateful homeland, the Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis surprise him reactionarily, supported by the Lady of the Pillar. Leocadia sings to calm him: Goya will be eternal, the rest is folly. They wake up shaken, Goya confesses that he paints for his need for expression regardless of the consequences. Moratín’s letter announced Goya’s arrival in France, unaware that it would be a farewell letter. The images of The Follies are sequenced as if he were watching his whole life pass before the end. The choir, as a society, acknowledges Goya’s legacy by bidding him a heartfelt farewell.

EXTRA INFO

FULL SCORE

CREDITS

FRANCISCO DE GOYA: CON LA MÚSICA A OTRA PARTE
Auditorio Eduardo del Pueyo, Zaragoza. March 2022.
An opera for choir and actors by JOSEMA GARCÍA HORMIGO
with libretto by JOSÉ LUIS CANO and ALBERTO CASTRILLO-FERRER

C.S.M.A. ENSEMBLE AND CHAMBER CHOIR
Music Direction ELENA RUIZ-ORTEGA
Actors JORGE ASÍN Y GEMA CRUZ
Stage Director RAFA BLANCA
Costumes and Posters E.S.D.A.
Light Design LUIS PERDIGUERO
Set Design VANESA HERNÁNDEZ
Coordination CARMEN ESTEBAN
Executive Production GOYA FOUNDATION IN ARAGÓN

C.S.M.A. ENSEMBLE
VIOLINS Alejandro González, Valeria Marina Borges, María Valdés, Inés Ruíz,
Alba Vidal, Mario Puimedón, Abraham Carrasco, Sofía Villora.
VIOLAS María Isabel Sánchez, Felipe Guzmán, Pablo Corral.
CELLOS María Dolores Gay, Bruno Magán.
DOUBLE BASS Sara Ruíz.
GUITAR Miriam Ordovás.
PERCUSSION Martí Consul, Ricardo Vidal.
QUINTET ON STAGE
Alejandro González, María Valdés, María Isabel Sánchez,
María Dolores Gay, Miriam Ordovás.

C.S.M.A. CHAMBER CHOIR
SOPRANOS Isabel Cazorla, María Gil Perales, Snezana Krnjajic, Sara Martín,
Irene M.De Las Muelas, Jordina Ollé, Saray Ruiz , Alicia Sola.
ALTOS Isabel Guantes, Laura Lletí, Sergio M. Zangróniz, María Mora,
Irene Pinés, Sara Segura, Juliana Torrijo, Isabella Torrijo.
TENORS Isaac Balaguer, Pablo Brazales, Mateo Gómez, Alejandro Martín,
Álvaro Román, Anai Telletxea.
BASSES Nikola Bommaritto, Rubén Catalán, Miguel Del Pozo,
Pablo García Vallés, Javier Grau, Javier Marín.
REPETITEUR PIANIST Sergio M. Zangróniz.

DESIGN
E.S.D.A. STUDENTS
COSTUME DESIGN Ainoa Sánchez.
FASHION DESIGN SPECIALTY Inés Cadena, Ricardo Júdez, Enrique Llera, Sara Sanz,
Daniela Baigorri, María Teresa Calero.
PROFESSORS Ana González, Andrés Jarabo, Laura Medrano, Mónica Navarro.
COLLABORATOR Hilvana. Olga Efimova.
GRAPHIC DESIGN E.S.D.A. STUDENTS María Orellana.
GRAPHIC DESIGN SPECIALTY Alejandro Melero.
DESIGN AND MODEL Juan Álvarez, Inés Casas, Alhambra Estaben, Ana De Pablo, Mihaela Dimofte, Jiajing Wang.
PROFESSORS Ana Mestre, Cristina Ondiviela, Nereida Jiménez, Jara Cordero, Carmen Morales.
COLLABORATOR Estudio Ductus. Tintaentera Taller De Obra Gráfica.
INTERIOR DESIGN Asignatura Diseño Escenográfico. Profesor Propuestas Avanzadas: Alberto Franco.
SUPERIOR MUSIC CONSERVATORY OF ARAGÓN (C.S.M.A.) DIRECTOR Francisco José Balsera.
PROJECT COORDINATION Carmen Esteban.
ARAGÓN HIGHER SCHOOL OF DESIGN (E.S.D.A.) DIRECTOR Luisa Pellegero.
PROJECT COORDINATION Luisa Pellegero Y Alberto Franco.

Opera for choir, ensemble and actors. Goya (2022) — GOYA (2022)