Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela is commemorating the career of Spanish composer Sebastián Durón with a full on four hour programme of opera and operetta. Two of his most famous works La guerra de los gigantes and El imposible mayor en amor, le vence amor make up a double bill that mixes modern and historical styles.
Director Gustavo Tambascio moves the action La guerra de los de los gigantes from 1700 to 1959, in a piece that sees giants attempt to conquer Mount Olympus. An interesting feature of the opera is its anonymous libretto, and it was composed to mark the occasion of the Count of Salvatierra Dona Maria Leonor Davila Lopez de Zuniga’s marriage to Beatriz Diaz. El imposible mayor en amor, le vence amor, meanwhile, was inspired by Italian music.
Durón was a composer of religious and operatic works, who lived from 1660 to 1716. He created music for the courts of Carlos II and Felipe V, and was organist at the Cathedral of Palencia. Durón died in France, where he had been forced into exile.
Teatro de la Zarzuela’s event marks the 300-year anniversary of his death. His other notable works include Apolo y Dafne, Salir el amor del mundo and Veneno es de amor la envidia. The double bill runs on 22 and 23 March.
