Piazzolla: Maria de Buenos Aires (Tango Operita)

Piazzolla: Maria de Buenos Aires (Tango Operita)

City gives birth to girl. City loses girl to shadowy underworld. City reunites with girl's spirit. That is the story of MarÃa de Buenos Aires, a 30-year-old Spanish-language operetta composed by Astor Piazzolla, the foremost proponent of modern tango. This recording was encouraged by violinist Gidon Kremer, resulting in an elegant new arrangement (down from the original eleven musicians to eight, including the late Piazzolla's beloved bandoneon) and the appearance of Horacio Ferrer, who wrote the libretto, to perform the role of Goblin (or El Duende), the narrator. Ferrer's textured spoken baritone brings a weary romance to the work, contrasting with Julia Zenko's robust MarÃa, who can enunciate pizzicato syllable-for-syllable runs without losing the meaning of her phrases, and who trills her r's with an emphasis equal parts street-wise and regal. For much of the operetta, MarÃa is actually the shadow spirit of MarÃa, cursed to wander the city; if Zenko's ethereal MarÃa seems more passionate than most mortals do, one must assume that Ferrer approves of the interpretation. The ensemble is exceptional, with particular emphasis given to Vadim Sakharov's jazzy piano and Kremer's elegiac violin. The production shows a tremendous amount of emotional restraint, in contrast with the MarÃa on Milan Records. At times, Ferrer's phantasmagoric poetry proves hysterically surreal. Who else, besides perhaps Woody Allen, could have composed an "Aria of the Anyalysts" in which MarÃa confronts her memories. --Marc Weidenbaum
Country USA
Brand WEA
Manufacturer Teldec Classics
Binding Audio CD
ItemPartNumber 0639842063227
Model 0639842063227
ReleaseDate 1998-09-25
UnitCount 2
Format CD
UPCs 639842063227
EANs 0639842063227

Country	USA
Brand	WEA
Manufacturer	Teldec Classics
Binding	Audio CD
ItemPartNumber	0639842063227
Model	0639842063227
ReleaseDate	1998-09-25
UnitCount	2
Format	CD
UPCs	639842063227
EANs	0639842063227

Piazzolla: Maria de Buenos Aires (Tango Operita)

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