Welsh National Opera Ainadamar at Birmingham Hippodrome - Review

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Tue 07 Nov 2023

Opera fans may be more used to seeing Spain represented in the classic Carmen but Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar takes us into a much less romanticized and much more savage Spain during the Civil War.

The focus is on poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca who was assassinated during the war at a site outside Granada called Ainadamar, which is Arabic for Fountain of Tears. But the plot is not a straight narrative of Lorca’s fate, instead moments of his life and death are recreated through the memories of close friend and actress Margarita Xirgu.

Lorca was heavily influenced by Spanish folklore and flamenco and Ainadamar brings together both flamenco rhythm, dancing and song with orchestral music and voice in a show which is both brutal and beautiful.



We are immediately introduced to the undercurrent of violence in Spanish culture with a solo flamenco performance from Isaac Tovar as a bullfighter. As running bulls are projected onto the stage we feel the menace of sudden death and wait for it to play out Lorca’s destiny.

Hanna Hip plays the trouser role of Lorca, who initially seems carefree as he meets Margarita in a bar and tells her about his new play Mariana Pineda. Golijov is here also drawing on Spanish history as Pineda is a heroine to many for her part in supporting the liberal cause in Spain – a role which led to her execution in another herald of the fate awaiting Lorca.

Hip’s Lorca is a man of the people, relaxed and happy and yet perhaps too relaxed and happy because when Xirgu begs him to go into exile to escape the war in Spain his refusal signs his death warrant.

Jaquelina Livieri’s Xirgu is a tormented soul who decades later is still overwhelmed by guilt over her failure to save Lorca. As she dips into the past and its memories pain her in the present, Livieri’s Xirgu is the voice of all of us who could have done more to prevent tragedy.

Directed by Deborah Colker, the production is packed full of symbolism and resonance so that unpicking all of its different elements is like unravelling a spool of thread. Some work better than others – the bullfight comparison is particularly fitting but when Lorca is killed in a Christ-like scene it feels somewhat anomalous as Lorca turned his back on his Catholic faith and the Spanish church was aligned with the Nationalist cause which executed him.



The sets, designed by Jon Bausor, make dramatic use of the stage, with a huge ring of dropped chains forming a circle around the central story. Characters enter and leave, they pull the chains back like curtains and they offer glimpses into the story. The set also provides an effective projection space and Tal Rosner’s imagery poignantly recreates the tears reflected in the name of the place of Lorca’s execution Ainadamar but also the strikingly forceful battle slogans.

Paul Keogan’s light makes wonderful use of this space, bathing characters and moments in stark white spotlights and drenching them in red.

Argentinian Golijov brought a huge range of influences including flamenco and Arabic calls to prayer into his score to the work so that it is as multi-layered as the story. WNO’s orchestra have proved themselves adept at rising to any musical challenge over the years and they tackle this score with confidence and subtlety.

Ainadamar played only one night in Birmingham which is a pity when the show, which is a co-production with Opera Ventures, Scottish Opera, Detroit Opera and The Metropolitan Opera, has so much to offer. But there’s still a chance to See WNO at the Hippodrome, as they perform Verdi’s La Traviata on 9-11 November and the family show Play Opera Live as a matinee on Saturday 11 November. See here for more information and tickets.

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