A parking lot, three cars and a girl leaving her vehicle. In a subway the action of an opera that contains another begins and that shows the underworld of the profession. Egos, vanities, rivalry, competition… Everything is mixed in an authentic burlesque vaudeville. The characters are introduced: the egocentric cousin dona, the German tenor unable to handle himself in Italian, the seconda donna aspiring to be the protagonist, the librettist dreaming of his success … And then she arrives, the progenitor of the despised second woman, who manages to do well the mother topic there is only one … and thank goodness.
In the year 1827, Gaetano Donizetti had enough sense of humor and enough feminist vision – some will now interpret – as if to give that role to a baritone. Carlos Álvarez eclipses from the first appearance of Mamma Agata in her patterned dress and red-haired wig. The man from Malaga says that he has loved diving on the feminine side and it shows that he enjoys it. She’s not a woman, she’s a woman, who might as well spend the afternoon with Robin Williams’ Mrs. Doubtfire.
They say that the most famous mother of an artist in Spain, La Pantoja, ordered a rehearsal with an orchestra to be stopped because Isabel had a thread hanging from her gown. Only when the madrísima took it off did the test continue. Some situation posed by the show may seem ridiculous to the public. They will be familiar to professionals on the scene. As a background of so much humor, an ode to theater that, no matter how much they try to destroy it – with egos or hydraulic hammers – always remains.
This Saturday and Sunday the last two performances of Viva la mamma will be performed at the Teatro Real. On Sunday June 13, the opera can be enjoyed in streaming on My Opera Player. More information on Instagram at @gabrielafresan
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