Composer:
Gabriela Lena Frank

Librettist:
Nilo Cruz

Composer website:
https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/composer/2388/Gabriela-Lena-Frank/

Composer contact:

Performance forces:
sop or mez — Orchestra (2,2,2,2; 2,2,0,0; 2perc, cel/pno, harp; str)

Length:
0:24

Languages:
Spanish

Notes:
La centinela y la paloma (The Keeper and the Dove), for soprano and chamber orchestra, finds its inspiration in two national treasures of Mexico: its annual Día de los muertos (Day of the Dead) folk-Catholic festival and iconic painter Frida Kahlo. A distillation of a large-scale opera in progress by playwright Nilo Cruz and composer Gabriela Lena Frank, this cycle of four songs features two characters: Catrina, the keeper of souls (also known as the Lady of Death), who bestows a gift but once a year to the spirits in her charge whereby they can visit their loved ones still living; and Frida, who, having predeceased her beloved husband Diego Rivera, yearns to see him once again. The four songs are: La centinela de los fieles difuntos (The Keeper of the Faithful Departed): Catrina, regal, all-powerful, and elusively ironical, announces the start of the night, watching as her spirits return to the cemetery grounds paved with petals by the living. Her favorite spirit is her dove Frida (¡Mi palomita!). ¡Que viva la vida! (Long Live Life!): Frida now takes center stage, reveling in her return to worldly pleasures. Most of all, she is dying to see Diego, her little frog (¡Mi sapito!). La ley de la muerta (The Law of Death): The night of visitation is coming to a close, and Frida is feeling Death’s inevitable claim as her physical form disintegrates. She can no longer experience either a satisfying semblance of life or her reunion with Diego. El descenso (The Descent): Catrina calls to her spirits to return, angrily realizing that Frida is late, resisting the summons. As Frida tries to flee, Catrina admonishes and gives chase, ultimately triumphing to bring the night to a close. — Gabriela Lena Frank There are seperate arangements for soprano and mezzo-soprano.