The production was a satisfactory enough mix of projections and furniture to show off the array of glitzy costumes and choreography, which were – with the music – what the show was all about. I loved every minute, and the sense of enthusiasm from both sides of the house combined to make for one of those blissfully kitsch hours which only zarzuela can provide. I must mention María Elena García’s mellifluously lissom contribution as soloist in the big numbers for the Argentine and Indian Girls, not least because (mystifyingly) the programme hadn’t found room for her biography. Let’s wish this sweet-toned, young soprano well. The simple revolve-set gives us a stony peasant hut and an even stonier mountain path, which is all we need. The care which Luis Olmos has put into his final production as Director of the Theatre extends to scrupulous, sensitive direction of the Andalusian dialogue scenes and detailed character acting throughout. There’s absolutely no sense that we’re marking time for the next musical number to start, which considering that this dialogue is by Carlos Arniches and of very high quality, is right and proper. I’ve never heard the house orchestra play better than they do here for Cristóbal Soler, whose tempi are perfect and whose beat is both as authoritative and as flexible as it should be. The new music director is going to be a great asset to La Zarzuela. I’m not ashamed tell you, quite predictably, that the Theatre’s Chorus work is every bit as thrilling and precise as we’ve come to expect during Antonio Fauró’s tenure.
