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The House of Bernarda Alba (La Casa de Bernarda Alba)

The House of Bernarda Alba (La Casa de Bernarda Alba)

Year Composed

2022

Duration

95:00

Instrumentation

five principals (three sopranos, two mezzo / contraltos,) three flexibly-cast comprimarios; SA chorus; chamber orchestra

Program Notes

The House of Bernarda Alba // La Casa de Bernarda Alba, an opera in three acts with libretto by Caridad Svich


Based on the play "The House of Bernarda Alba" by Federico Garcia Lorca


Utilizing an all-female cast, The House of Bernarda Alba is a tragic drama set in Spain centered on the family and legacy of Bernarda Alba and her five daughters -- Angustias, Magdalena, Amelia, Martirio, and Adela, in descending order of age.  Her home also shelters the elder (and increasingly senile) mother of Bernarda, María Josefa, and their long-time maid, La Poncia.


The opera begins with the ringing of cathedral bells -- which peal out from the nearby church, in which the funeral of Bernarda’s second husband takes place.  Immediately, one notes that Bernarda is an exacting and unforgiving woman -- she frightens off the townswomen who enter after the funeral for their gossip and “poison tongues,” she feels little sympathy for those in poverty, and she frequently demands that her daughters withhold their emotions.  After driving away the townswomen, Bernarda demands that her daughters observe a strict eight year mourning period, during which all must continually wear black, remain indoors, tend their needlework, and keep themselves entirely chaste.

Additional Information

Commissioners: Cleveland Opera Theater and Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music

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