En la ardiente oscuridad (In the Burning Darkness) is a play by Antonio Buero Vallejo, written in 1947, which made its debut in the Teatro María Guerrero in Madrid on 1 December 1950.
The play centers around Ignacio, who is admitted to an institute for the blind, managed by Don Pablo.
However, Doña Pepita admits to Carlos that she knows he murdered Ignacio but can't confirm it.
It is only then that Carlos realizes he is more affected by being blind than he was willing to admit, and the play ends with this realization.
[citation needed] One of Buero Vallejo's stage effects in this play is the darkening of the theater during a crucial conversation between Ignacio and Carlos to simulate for the audience the experience of blindness.
[2] The play was adapted for cinema, and the film En la ardiente oscuridad was released in 1958, though not in the United States.
The play has also been adapted as an opera for a cast of 12 singers and piano by composer Omar Najmi.
Its world premiere performance took place in Watertown, MA, in 2019, with Najmi singing the role of Ignacio.