With his highly original fusions of musical traditions, Osvaldo Golijov, who grew up in an Eastern European Jewish household in Argentina, has become one of the world’s most influential, sought-after composers.
Contributing to his standing is the 80-minute, one-act opera “Aina damar,” which revolves around the life of celebrated Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca as told through the eyes of Spanish actress Margarita Xirgu.
The revised version of this work debuted at the Santa Fe Opera in 2005 and was lauded by some critics. But others, including me, had mixed feelings.
In what was a commendably ambitious and daring undertaking, the Colorado Music Festival presented the local debut of the work Thursday night in Boulder’s Chautauqua Auditorium, offering a welcome opportunity to hear it afresh.
Because the story’s theatrical aspects are so critical and the libretto can be confusing at times, the opera inevitably lost some of its potency in this concert version.
But on the positive side, this format allowed the audience to focus on Golijov’s inventive, flamenco-infused score, which was handsomely realized under the passionate direction of conductor Michael Christie and had a more powerful impact on second hearing.
That said, I continue to believe that the opera overreaches. It tries to be both an intimate portrayal of Lorca and Xirgu and a grand political drama and succeeds at neither. It simply does not achieve the emotional impact of a great work.
Whatever shortcomings the opera itself might have, the performances were all top notch. The festival was able to engage two of the principals from the Santa Fe production – soprano Jessica Rivera and mezzo-soprano Kelley O’Connor.
With her floating, multidimensional and expressive voice, Rivera offered a deeply committed, affecting performance as Xirgu. But the soprano was almost upstaged by O’Connor. She has an unexpectedly deep, entrancing voice, tinged with a sense of timelessness and exoticism. Soprano Emily Albrink was strong as Xirgu’s protégée, Nuria. Kudos also to flamenco vocalist Jesus Montoya and Tom Vander Bosch as the priest.
The opera will be repeated at 7:30 tonight.
Fine arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
