Goyescas (opera)

Granados composed the opera to a Spanish libretto by Fernando Periquet y Zuaznabar with melodies taken from his 1911 piano suite, which was also called Goyescas.

Prevented by World War I from being presented at the Paris Opéra, the premiere of Goyescas took place on January 28, 1916 at the Metropolitan Opera.

Paired on a double bill with Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, the opera's cast included the leading artists Giovanni Martinelli and Giuseppe De Luca.

In his review for the New York Times, Richard Aldrich wrote that the music was "profoundly felt" and possessed "an intensely national color".

The composer wrote, "I am enamored with the psychology of Goya, with his palette, with him, with his muse the Duchess of Alba, with his quarrels with his models, his loves and flatteries.

That whitish pink of the cheeks, contrasting with the blend of black velvet; those subterranean creatures, hands of mother-of-pearl and jasmine resting on jet trinkets, have possessed me."

He was invited by President Woodrow Wilson to perform a piano recital at the White House, causing him to postpone his return to Spain.

Granados and his wife lost their lives on March 24, 1916 when their ship, the French steamer Sussex, was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the English Channel.

The story of Goyescas is based on a series of six paintings from Francisco Goya’s early career, inspired by the stereotypical young men and women of the majismo movement.

As the Manzanares River meanders in the distance, the fun loving troupe spend their time dancing, feasting, and playing a traditional game known as the pelele.

Suddenly, the attention is on two richly dressed lackeys bearing a sedan-chair, and in which the high born lady Rosario waits for her lover.

Later that night, Rosario sits on a bench in the palace garden, listening to the sad song of a nightingale under the light of the moon.

They share a loving moment, ruined by the presence of Paquiro, who is dressed in a black cloak with Pepa trailing furtively.