Recently Heard: Ainadamar by Osvaldo Golijov

[ellyssian]

Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar

Dawn Upshaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Spano

In my opinion, this is flat-out the best modern opera I have heard. Of course, I'm partial to guitar playing in general and flamenco in particular, and this work uses them in very effective ways - not just the guitars, but the percussive and vocal elements as well. William Kanensinger and Andrew York of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet provide some of that power and finesse - both exceptional players, and the former a nice guy to talk with as well as the Steve Vai-trumping classical player in the guitar showdown at the climax of Crossroads.

The Gunshot Interlude is a particularly effective use of sound effects (a gunshot, and the bullet ejecting from the chamber) in telling the story. And just as that shifts into a rhythmic pattern, the flamenco vocals just rip your heart out and help you picture the scene.

I'm only about three listens into this so far - and I've yet to go in-depth into the lyrics or the plot - but I tend not to expect anything impressive in a libretto. Might be why I prefer to listen to opera in its native language, and why I prefer not to listen to operas where the native language is English. This one *looks* good so far, though, and no cheesiness has jumped out and said, "Hey! Here I am!" at this time. To be honest, I am afraid to look further, and may not decide if the story is worthy of those 5 letters or not.

I do know that this will be the opera I listen to most frequently, and it will rank higher in the playlist than a lot of choral pieces which get fairly frequent replays.

It might be just the thing if you like opera and were thinking maybe you'd like to explore flamenco, or if you like older operas but squirm at the thought of listening to a modern opera, or if you like flamenco and would like to explore opera but don't know where to start... or if you're not a listener of one or the other but appreciate good music.