María de Buenos Aires
Tango operita in two parts by Astor Piazzolla
Marguerre-Saal
[recommended for ages 15 and up]
María is a refugee from the country, an immigrant from Europe and has stranded in Buenos Aires’ red-light district. María is the music composed from all of that: the guitar tunes of Argentina's Pampa, the dances, romances and ballads of immigrants. María is tango. María dies and is reborn. Just like tango was reborn.
Astor Piazzolla, the son of Italian immigrants, was among those who introduced the tango, previously associated with Argentina’s sub-culture, to bourgeois salons and the world’s big concert stages. »María de Buenos Aires«, a lyrical oratorio-like tale praising life and freedom, was premiered in 1968, as a collaboration with his long-term artistic partner, Horacio Ferrer. So many of those who came to Buenos Aires were looking for freedom, so many of them dreamt of and fought for this freedom during the military regime, and this freedom is questioned again today. Not just in Argentina. From Buenos Aires, María travelled the world and is still travelling today.