Twenty-four years Release meet Venezuelan opera "The martyrdom of Columbus" by Federico Ruiz, next November.
Although it is missing for celebration and although we are far from October 12, the date referred to by the opera, it is worth noting the musical elements of this mestizo and marvelous work.
Both the title and the text are written by Achilles Nazoa work, and included in his fabulous book "Love and Humor Achilles Nazoa". Nazoa undoubtedly already a classic of Venezuelan poetry, and particularly Caracas; precisely because of the way it portrayed the customs of the capital city, their whims, their usages, their way of speaking.
Indeed, many of these linguistic ingredients are present in the opera, because Federico Ruiz, author of music, left intact all the verses, without adapting or upgrading to a closer understanding. Indeed, if the opera (listening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QE8IFjqx9U ) and not the meanings of idioms are known to do a research effort to understand them .
But this is another point. The aspect of music is the focus of this article: the music of Federico Ruiz is truly wonderful, because it places the viewer in the time of Columbus. Its twists, however, follow the pattern of Spanish Renaissance music, and for this, the author gives an important role harpsichord. Let us not forget that this key instrument is essential in the pre-Romantic opera, because it marks the part of the recitatives, but opera Ruiz has a particular and essential preponderance, by the color that gives music. Then, another aspect is the mix that introduces Ruiz, combining Afro-Caribbean rhythms, which, beyond giving the essential touch of humor (the text so requires, is a parody) shows the listener textures and even how those musics of the fifteenth and sixteenth century subsisted in cultural Hispanic heritage.
Luckily you have even the Venezuela crisis and shortcomings, yet be able to count with the staging of this opera, and the public to receive and accept with love and admiration.
