Cecilia Valdés

"Cecilia Valdés" is a zarzuela in two acts with music by Gonzalo Roig. The libretto was by Agustin Rodríguez and José Sánchez-Arcilla, based on the novel "Cecilia Valdés, or the Angel's Hill" by Cirilo Villaverde. The story deals with racial prejudices in Cuban society under Spanish rule during the first half of the 19th century.

Performance history

* World premiere: Havana, Cuba 1932
* Metropolitan Opera premiere: July 17, 1965
* Toronto Operetta Theatre: February 15, 2003.

Critique

Now, in the Villaverde's novel (written in 1882), that melodramatic plot serves as merely a background of presenting broad social life in Cuba at that time, with slavery, injustice, and what crises and personal tragedies it produced, following colorful presentation in detailed characterization and description, even to the point that plot itself loose its pace during many initial pages, long before reaching explosive point, as if author would lost interest in continuation of his story and wanted to finish it as fast as possible.

In Roig's zarzuela, however, dramatic element is more exposed, more consistent and in swift action, presented as an interesting unrolling story pointing toward inevitable climax, which shows great talent and theatrical experience on the part of the composer, the piece containing mixture of traditional Cuban music, with all its genres, forms and vivid rhythms and dances, interlaced in good balance with predominantly romantic in style music of the Western tradition, particularly in melody and orchestration.

ynopsis

Action (in both the novel and the zarzuela) takes place in colonial Cuba about year 1830, at the time when a young and beautiful light skinned mulatta woman, Cecilia Valdés, comes to an age, she being illegitimate daughter of powerful land magnate and slave trader, Candido de Gamboa, and Leonardo de Gamboa being his legitimate son. Leonardo falls in love with Cecilia not realizing that she is his own half-sister, and they become lovers. At the same time, hopelessly in love with Cecilia is also another man, the poor black musician, José Dolores Pimienta, however his advances Cecilia rejects.

Love between Leonardo and Cecilia does not last very long, however. Soon he abandons her regardless that she gives birth to his baby, being more concerned about his own status in high society than desire of his own heart, following usual rules and conventions of that time when it would be unthinkable to legally marry a mulatta by the white man. He becomes involved with another woman of his own color and class, a certain Isabel Llincheta. On the day of his wedding he is assassinated on the steps of the cathedral by vengeful Pimienta who acts on instigation of abandoned Cecilia.

Available recordings

* Audio CD from Orfeon Records (1997)

Sources

* [http://www.soycubano.com/bijirita/musica/ceciliai.asp "Cecilia Valdés": Cuban Zarzuela]
* [http://www.torontooperetta.com/(REVIEWS)/review_02-03_CECILIA%20VALDES.htm "Cecilia Valdés" in Toronto Operetta Theatre]
* [http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=20545&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html Cecilia Valdés, the novel]
* [http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm MetOpera database (archives)]
* [http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/LiteratureEnglish/WorldLiterature/LatinAmerican/?view=usa&ci=9780195143959 Oxford University Press on Cecilia]
* [http://www.soycubano.com/bijirita/literatura/angel_ceciliai.asp Angel of Cecilia]