Bretón: La Dolores

Opera no 173

Bretón: La Dolores

Soloists

Barcelona Symphony Orchestra

Antoni Ros Marbà

From Portugal we move across the border (and forward a century) to a Spanish opera. The only thing I knew about opera in Spain was the tradition of Zarzuela, which is form of light opera with song and spoken dialogue. I thought that this night an example of that form, but in fact this is a fully-composed opera of some dramatic weight.

The obvious attraction is the many overtly Spanish elements - in particular the jota in the first act finale, which is straight out of the world of Chabrier’s España - I did wonder whether Chabrier had taken the idea for his work from this opera but the dates don’t work - España predated it by several years. Perhaps the influence went the other way - after it is often said that the best Spanish music was written by French composers.

But there is more to the opera than this Spanish colouring. It belongs to same world as Carmen but also of Cav and Pag and the early verismo operas. It packs quite a punch, particularly in the big duet near the end for the Soprano and Tenor - that really leapt off the page. I can imagine that opera would work very well on the stage - it has a freshness and attractiveness which would go down well with contemporary audiences, though I suspect that few opera companies would want to take on the risk of a work by a completely unknown composer.