Jugar con fuego (Playing with Fire) is a zarzuela in three acts by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri, to a Spanish libretto by Ventura de la Vega.
[1] As with most zarzuelas of this period, de la Vega's plot and characters are squarely based on an adaptation of a French play, in this case Madame d'Egmont, ou Sont-elles deux?
[2] The (heavily cut) 1954 Alhambra LP recording of Jugar con fuego, conducted by Ataúlfo Argenta, with Pilar Lorengar, Manuel Ausensi, Carlos Munguia and Antonio Campo, was reissued on CD in 1990, and again by Novoson in 2014.
The Act 3 solo "Un tiempo fue" (sung by the Duchess, repentant and in finally truly in love) is the most popular number of the score, and is often anthologised in collections of zarzuela romanzas.
The crowd recognises the Duchess of Medina, a young widow who has disguised herself as a poor house-maid for an assignation with her admirer, but pursued by the Marqués of Caravaca, a boastful and lecherous man.