{"id":614,"date":"2021-12-18T09:06:43","date_gmt":"2021-12-18T09:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/?p=614"},"modified":"2021-12-18T10:29:50","modified_gmt":"2021-12-18T10:29:50","slug":"buenos-aires-to-bucharest-piazzollas-maria-travels-through-the-ages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/buenos-aires-to-bucharest-piazzollas-maria-travels-through-the-ages\/","title":{"rendered":"Buenos Aires to Bucharest: Piazzolla\u2019s Maria Travels through the Ages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maria Z\u0103rnescu<\/strong>*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria de Buenos Aires<\/em>. Music: Astor Piazzolla. Book: Horacio Ferrer. Translated by Albert Denn. Lyrics: Alex \u0218tef\u0103nescu. Direction, choreography and costumes: R\u0103zvan Mazilu. Set: Drago\u0219 Buhagiar. Lighting design: \u0218tefan Vasilescu. Cast: Ana Bianca Popescu (Maria), Gheorghe Visu (The Spirit), Lucian Ionescu (The organ-grinder, The dreamer, The old thief, The first analyst, The priest) and Emy Dr\u0103goi on accordion. The chorus: Bogdan Iacob, Andrei M\u0103rcu\u021b\u0103, George Vasile. Conductor: Mihai Murariu. The orchestra: Mihai Murariu (piano); Ioana V\u0103leanu (percussion); Cristina H\u00eerjanu (flute); Diana Ciudin (1st<\/sup> violin); Bianca Dr\u0103goi (2nd<\/sup> violin); Alessia Dr\u0103goi (3rd<\/sup> violin); Larisa Retegan (viola); Mihail Grigore (cello); Iacob Artin Panighiant (double bass). Stage premiere: February 2021 at Teatrelli, Bucharest, Romania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Buenos Aires as a twilight zone: set by Drago\u015f Buhagiar. Photo: Drago\u0219 Tr\u0103istaru \u0219i Romana \u021aopescu<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTango does not exist anymore,\u201d the composer Astor Piazzolla once said. \u201cIt did once, at a time when Buenos Aires was a place where people were wearing the tango, walking the tango, when the fragrance of tango was all over the city. . . .\u201d Born in Argentina to parents of Italian descent, Piazolla revolutionized the traditional tango. He added elements of jazz and classical music, creating a new style in continuous evolution\u2014nuevo tango<\/em>. He extended the boundaries of this kind of dance: the art of composition, the vocal and the instrumental scores, the libretto and the lyrics joined the original choreography. Aware of the power of words, the avant-garde artist Piazzolla was to win over the Uruguayan Horacio Ferrer, a poet and musician, who had joined the tango world somewhat later. Determined to create new lyrics (at a time when all of them seemed to have been already written), Ferrer was reluctant to produce direct or dull texts (an obstinacy for which any artist will pay a price . . .) He would thus create his own voice in tango and write a book that alternates surrealism and magic realism for the “operita” Maria de Buenos Aires<\/em>, to accompany Astor Piazzolla\u2019s music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Haunted by the Spirit of a blind poet (Gheorghe Visu), Maria (Ana Bianca Popescu) dedicates her life to love. Photo: Andrei G\u00eendac<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Its premiere took place back in 1968, in Argentina\u2019s capital itself, but the operita is still rarely staged worldwide\u2014few directors have dared to approach the libretto. In spite of this, I’ve had the luck to see Maria de Buenos Aires<\/em> in Romania three times. This latest revival showcases a team of well-known characters from the country\u2019s arts world. Top of the list is R\u0103zvan Mazilu, with a career of more than two decades in dance, choreography and directing musical shows. He was a frequent pioneer in this area of show business, just like a settler creating the basics of life in an uninhabited territory. He bravely approached various forms: contemporary dance, dance-theatre, cabaret, opera. In recent years, he has dedicated himself tenaciously to the musical, a genre which, according to his own confession, fascinates and best represents him. Proof of this are the dozens of productions in which, on the one hand, he complied with the \u201crecipe\u201d of the process, without useless theatricals determined by vanity or by ignorance of the specific mechanisms, and, on the other hand, he put to work his own creativity and imagination, untroubled by the “spectacularity” of the genre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ana Bianca Popescu and Lucian Ionescu: a passionate tango, choreographed by Daniel M\u0103ndi\u0163\u0103. Photo: Andrei G\u00eendac<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We find him now as director, choreographer and creator of the exciting costumes for Maria de Buenos Aires<\/em>, a show which makes you feel privileged to witness it. Teatrelli, a small artistic caf\u00e9 in uptown Bucharest, has undergone a makeover by Drago\u015f Buhagiar, the most acclaimed Romanian set designer. The hall becomes the playing space, the stage a platform for the musicians, while the audience is placed in a circle, becoming part of the story. This is not an interactive show\u2014not at all\u2014but the redesigned venue and the COVID distancing measures have cut the number of spectators to only forty. The ambiance is intimate: you sit on a miscellaneous collection of old chairs that are part of the setting, you may drink tango at your table, from a choice of cocktails carrying the names of songs. In the beginning, you are wrapped in a haze of white veils, which will later reveal fragments of a decadent and bustling city of the 1920s. The director confesses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have not yet been to Buenos Aires . . . So I imagined a city made up of all the known clich\u00e9s and commonplaces, which I dynamited and turned inside out . . . A Buenos Aires inspired by readings from Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez and Borges. A Buenos Aires inspired by Piazzolla\u2019s music, listened to on repeat. By the overwhelming voices of Carlos Gardel or Julio Sosa. By the movies of Carlos Saura and Sally Potter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Ana Bianca Popescu as Maria de Buenos Aires: a portrait of remembrance. Photo: Andrei G\u00eendac<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the centre of the small arena, one finds the most eloquent symbol: the bed. But it has a broken leg and everything around seems to be falling apart, including the Persian carpets on the floor. Three chandeliers and a few lamp posts throw a diffused light to give you a dimmed view of the action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the strange story of a certain Maria, who, like all the women-Marias (biblical or not), is going through her various destinies: virgin, sinner, lover, mother. Born under an unlucky star, “one day when God was drunk,” young Maria will run away from home, will prostitute herself for survival, will love and die in a ruthless Buenos Aires. When born a second time, the Shadow of Maria will come back to the streets of the city with which she identifies herself, singing the tune of the yet-to-be-written, most heart-breaking tango, until her final deliverance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lucian Ionescu as a flamboyant character: an explosion of fantasy in the costumes created by R\u0103zvan Mazilu. Photo: Andrei G\u00eendac<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The young actress Ana Bianca Popescu is a true incarnation of the character, with beauty and charisma, a remarkable voice and a native sensuality in her movements. Her hair and her dress are red as sin, yet her purity makes its way through her whole being. The surreal story is told in an almost monotonous, abrupt way, with a special voice, abrasive yet very musical, by a wandering Spirit, played by Gheorghe Visu, a famous Romanian theatre and television actor. The director took his inspiration in designing the character from a picture of Borges, almost blind and leaning melancholically on a cane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The accordionist Emy Dr\u0103goi and the actor Gheorge Visu: a dialogue between music and words. Photo: Andrei G\u00eendac<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In her journey through the ages, Maria is accompanied by other terrestrial characters\u2014an Organ-grinder, a Dreamer, an Old man, an Analyst and, finally, a Priest\u2014all played with ease, mobility and a warm, caressing voice by the young Lucian Ionescu. It is an exceptional cast: all three actors (from two generations) are holders of various awards from the Romanian Association of Theatre Professionals UNITER.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The show flows like a poem to Piazzolla\u2019s music, with solo arias and choir, backed by a well assembled and well conducted small orchestra. When you say Buenos Aires, you say tango; when you say tango, you say Piazzolla. But who could play live and convey the energy and the romanticism of his music? A very inspired choice, the experienced accordionist Emy Dr\u0103goi has spent years in France, where he often played jazz manouche, and in this spectacle he shows lightness and authenticity. At the end, as a bonus, abandoning the strictness of the libretto, he offers, together with his band, a small instrumental recital of absolute virtuosity, to the delight of the spectators enjoying the privilege of being part of this happy festivity at Teatrelli, in Bucharest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
An end is a beginning: Gheorghe Visu, Ana Bianca Popescu, and Lucian Ionescu (L-R). Photo: Andrei G\u00eendac<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

“Abandon all hope, ye who . . .” seek realism in theatre. Maria de Buenos Aires will descend into the Inferno, then roam through Purgatory, in order to finally reach Paradise. In her journey, she will be accompanied by an audience that may be surprised to discover a different kind of story. But once the charm of the music and the lyrics makes its way through, together with the magic of the acting and the musical interpretation, a rich emotional experience will be their well-deserved reward. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

*<\/a>Maria Z\u0103rnescu<\/strong>, PhD (b. 1969, Bucharest) is a Romanian theatre theorist and critic, Associate Professor at the National University of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography \u201cI.L. Caragiale\u201d Bucharest. Author of books: Music and Muses<\/em> (2015) and The Sound of Theatre Music<\/em> (2016). Theatrical and musical reviews, studies and essays published in Romanian and international journals. The Romanian Association of Theatre Professionals UNITER Award for “Best Theatre Critic”in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9<\/strong> 2021 Maria Z\u0103rnescu
Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Creative<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This work is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performance-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/12\/PER-Maria-de-Buenos-5.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":112,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/loss-and-being-lost-performing-precarity-through-multilingual-text-song-and-music-in-zoo-indigos-dont-leave-me-this-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":614,"position":0},"title":"Loss and Being Lost: Performing Precarity through Multilingual Text, Song and Music in Zoo Indigo\u2019s Don\u2019t Leave Me This Way","author":"Maria Z\u0103rnescu","date":"October 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Rosie Garton* and Ildik\u00f3 Rippel** Abstract This article examines the function of music and multilingualism in Zoo Indigo\u2019s Don\u2019t Leave Me This Way. Through an engagement with live music, song and multilingual spoken text, an \u201caffective potential of tonality\u201d (Fischer-Lichte 120)\u00a0 is explored to express themes of precarity.\u00a0The use of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Essays"","block_context":{"text":"Essays","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/category\/essays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/10\/image4-2.jpeg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/10\/image4-2.jpeg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/10\/image4-2.jpeg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/10\/image4-2.jpeg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":335,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/ion-caramitru-an-artistic-guiding-force-1942-2021\/","url_meta":{"origin":614,"position":1},"title":"Ion Caramitru – An Artistic Guiding Force (1942-2021)","author":"Maria Z\u0103rnescu","date":"November 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Maria Z\u0103rnescu* Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince, And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest. (Shakespeare, Hamlet) They say a man is not dead as long as another still remembers his voice. Ion Caramitru has not died, nor has he retired to take a rest.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "In Memoriam"","block_context":{"text":"In Memoriam","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/category\/in-memoriam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/image10.jpeg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/image10.jpeg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/image10.jpeg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/image10.jpeg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":349,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/rediscovering-stanislavsky\/","url_meta":{"origin":614,"position":2},"title":"Rediscovering Stanislavsky","author":"Maria Z\u0103rnescu","date":"November 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"By Maria Shevtsova442 pp. Cambridge University Press Reviewed by Nathan Thomas* With her new volume Rediscovering Stanislavsky, noted British scholar Maria Shevtsova gives us an important and welcome addition to a bourgeoning list of necessary books about the great Russian director and acting teacher. Shevtsova\u2019s research is both broad and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/category\/book-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/HS-NATHAN-THOMAS-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":626,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/romanian-theatre-waiting-for-the-present-to-take-shape\/","url_meta":{"origin":614,"position":3},"title":"Romanian Theatre: Waiting for the Present to Take Shape","author":"Maria Z\u0103rnescu","date":"December 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Kinga Boros* Piatra Neam\u021b\u00a0Theatre Festival, 32nd edition, 3\u201312 September 2021, Romania. Romanian theatre at the end of summer 2021 was marked by two deaths. Voicu R\u0103descu, the founder of the Romanian independent theatre movement, passed away first, and Ion Caramitru, director of the Bucharest National Theatre shortly after him. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Performance Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Performance Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/category\/performance-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/12\/PER-PiatraN-To-be-con3.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/12\/PER-PiatraN-To-be-con3.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/12\/PER-PiatraN-To-be-con3.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/12\/PER-PiatraN-To-be-con3.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":90,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/devising-decolonizing-and-disrupting-america-musical-theatre-aural-anatomy-through-the-playlist-musical\/","url_meta":{"origin":614,"position":4},"title":"Devising, Decolonizing, and Disrupting American Musical Theatre Aural Anatomy Through the Playlist Musical","author":"Maria Z\u0103rnescu","date":"October 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Natalie Rine* Abstract Ethnographic perspectives on commercial musical theatre works in the United States invite us to view a show\u2019s\u00a0composition, and thus their exercise of power, as constituted by written and aural contributions of only one to a few creators. Yet, modern listening habits and popular music positionalities champion multi-composer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Essays"","block_context":{"text":"Essays","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/category\/essays\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/10\/image5-2.jpeg?fit=800%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/10\/image5-2.jpeg?fit=800%2C478&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/10\/image5-2.jpeg?fit=800%2C478&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/10\/image5-2.jpeg?fit=800%2C478&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":286,"url":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/the-access-point-in-st-petersburg-interview-with-filipp-vulakh-yulia-kleiman-and-alexei-platunov\/","url_meta":{"origin":614,"position":5},"title":"The Access Point in St. Petersburg: Interview with Filipp Vulakh, Yulia Kleiman and Alexei Platunov","author":"Maria Z\u0103rnescu","date":"November 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Nikolai Pesochinsky* The seventh Access Point festival in St. Petersburg during the summer of 2021 has been described as a \"forum for site-specific and immersive art.\" Simply put, the festival performances placed game events in non-theatrical spaces and engaged the spectators in active participation. Experimenting with urban space, these\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interviews"","block_context":{"text":"Interviews","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/category\/interviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/image7-1.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/image7-1.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/image7-1.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2021\/11\/image7-1.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":694,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614\/revisions\/694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}