La vida breve
Encyclopedia
La vida breve is an opera
in two acts and four scenes by Manuel de Falla
to an original Spanish libretto
by Carlos Fernández-Shaw. The first performance was given at the Casino Municipal in Nice
on April 1, 1913.
The complete opera, only an hour in length, is seldom performed today, but its dances are, especially the famous Interlude and Dance, played often at orchestral concerts of Spanish music. Also, the Danse Espagnole, part of the wedding celebrations, is well-known among the violin-playing world as a violin showpiece arranged by Fritz Kreisler
. The opera is unusual for having as much purely instrumental as vocal music. Its opening scene effectively portrays a typical morning in the village, with a male chorus of anvil workers plying their trade in the local forge.
The soprano
Victoria de los Ángeles
and mezzo-soprano
Teresa Berganza
have each sung the role of Salud in recorded versions of the opera.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in two acts and four scenes by Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu was a Spanish Andalusian composer of classical music. With Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados and Joaquín Turina he is one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century....
to an original Spanish libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Carlos Fernández-Shaw. The first performance was given at the Casino Municipal in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
on April 1, 1913.
The complete opera, only an hour in length, is seldom performed today, but its dances are, especially the famous Interlude and Dance, played often at orchestral concerts of Spanish music. Also, the Danse Espagnole, part of the wedding celebrations, is well-known among the violin-playing world as a violin showpiece arranged by Fritz Kreisler
Fritz Kreisler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most famous violin masters of his or any other day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately...
. The opera is unusual for having as much purely instrumental as vocal music. Its opening scene effectively portrays a typical morning in the village, with a male chorus of anvil workers plying their trade in the local forge.
The soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
and mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
Teresa Berganza
Teresa Berganza
Teresa Berganza, born on March 16, 1935), is a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with the roles of Rossini, Mozart, and Bizet. She is admired for her technical virtuosity, musical intelligence and beguiling stage presence.- Biography :...
have each sung the role of Salud in recorded versions of the opera.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 1 April 1913 (Conductor: Jacques Miranne) |
|---|---|---|
| Salud | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Lillian Grenville |
| Paco | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
David Devriès David Devriès David Devriès was a French operatic lyric tenor noted for his light, heady tone, and polished phrasing... |
| Uncle Salvador | bass | Édouard Cotreuil |
| Grandmother | mezzosoprano | Renée Fanty |
| Carmela | mezzosoprano | Mlle Gerday |
| Manuel | baritone | Termany |
| Singer | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
|
| First saleswoman | contralto Contralto Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above... |
Daurelly |
| Second saleswoman | mezzo-soprano | A Bernard |
| Salesman | bass | |
| Voice from the forge/Voice from afar | tenor | Rouziery |
Synopsis
The story concerns a beautiful young gypsy, Salud, who is passionately in love with a young man named Paco. She does not know, and Paco does not tell her, that he is already engaged to "una de su clase" (a woman from his own, supposedly more elevated, class). However, her uncle and her grandmother have discovered this, and they unsuccessfully try to prevent her from interrupting her lover's wedding after she learns the truth. When Salud confronts Paco before the astonished bride and the wedding guests, he denies knowing her and, her heart broken, Salud literally drops dead at his feet - in what is said to be the ultimate gesture of contempt for a former lover.Recordings
- Victoria de los ÁngelesVictoria de los ÁngelesVictoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
, Carlo CossuttaCarlo CossuttaCarlo Cossutta was a prominent Italian dramatic tenor who had a major international opera career that spanned from the mid 1950s through the late 1990s. He began and ended his career at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires where he sang regularly from 1958 through 1998...
, Juan de Andia, Ana Maria Higueras, Jose Maria Higuero, Gabriel Moreno, Victor de Narké, Ines Rivadeneyra, Luis Villarejo - Spanish National Orchestra, Rafael Frühbeck de BurgosRafael Frühbeck de BurgosRafael Frühbeck de Burgos is a Spanish conductor and composer.Frühbeck studied violin, piano, and composition at the conservatories of Bilbao and Madrid... - Marta Senn, Fernando de La Mora, Cecilia Angell, Ignacio Clapes, William Alvarado, Claudio Muskus, Elizabeth Almenar - Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela, Eduardo MataEduardo MataEduardo Mata was a Mexican conductor and composer.Mata was born in Mexico City. He studied guitar privately for three years before enrolling in the National Conservatory of Music. From 1960 to 1963 he studied composition under Carlos Chávez, Héctor Quintanar and Julián Orbón. In 1964 he received a...
External links
- Danse Espagnole, performed by dancer Nuria PomaresNuria PomaresNuria Pomares is a dancer. She was born in Madrid and studied Spanish and Classical ballet at the Royal High School of Dance. Her professional debut was at Lincoln Center in 1991. She has danced at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona...
and the Israel Philharmonic OrchestraIsrael Philharmonic OrchestraThe Israel Philharmonic Orchestra is the leading symphony orchestra in Israel. It was originally known as the Palestine Orchestra, and in Hebrew as התזמורת הסימפונית הארץ ישראלית The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (abbreviation IPO; Hebrew: התזמורת הפילהרמונית הישראלית, ha-Tizmoret ha-Filharmonit...
with Rafael Frühbeck de BurgosRafael Frühbeck de BurgosRafael Frühbeck de Burgos is a Spanish conductor and composer.Frühbeck studied violin, piano, and composition at the conservatories of Bilbao and Madrid...
conducting, in Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, June 6, 2009 - Danse Espagnole, arrangement Fritz KreislerFritz KreislerFriedrich "Fritz" Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most famous violin masters of his or any other day, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately...
, performed by Itzhak PerlmanItzhak PerlmanItzhak Perlman is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master classes. He is regarded as one of the pre-eminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.-Early life:...
(violin) and Ken Noda (piano) at the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical... - Short clip from La vida breve with Victoria de los ÁngelesVictoria de los ÁngelesVictoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...