Search - Ernesto Lecuona :: Maria La O, ,

Zarzuela at its best

M. Ferrer | SPAIN | 01/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is some music that has a special room in your heart. This zarzuela is one of those. I spent many hours of my childhood listening this one. And even as a child you can understand when music is good. Ernesto Lecuona was one of the finest composers Cuba has ever had. Apart from his wonderful piano works he wrote this wonderful zarzuela.



Maria is a beautiful girl who is the object of the affections of a rich man. Obviously at the begining she ha sno interest in him because he just want a love affair, but as the story develops we see that from an initial infatuation our hero will end loving her and proposing.



Lecuona creates splendid melodies with a mix between Cuban traditional music and classical one. The music is catchy and La orquesta de Camara de Madrid has made a wonderful job. But the singers are superb. Some of the best zarzuela voices are here, Like Luis Sagi-Vela or Luisa de Cordoba.



The duo is simply wonderful and La chancletera is probably the funniest music ever written in a zarzuela."