Ay, Carmela! Musical.
JUAN IGNACIO GARCÍA GARZÓN
The ghosts of the memory of Paulino,
the old, defeated comedian, are back on stage a quarter of a
century after they premiered. And now with "music in the bones" to
once again build a story about dignity and defeat, although
differently. Well adapted by José Luis García Sánchez, José Sanchis
Sinisterra's work acquires new dimensions upon developing the
latent musical content of this show. Under the direction of Andrés
Lima, not unlike a Berlin cabaret especially at the beginning, and
the formidable Marta Ribera, as the mistress of ceremonies,
narrator and catalyst of action, all of which, yet again, confirms
her as a theater actress who sings, dances, acts and does
everything well.
The mixture of old songs and music
composed for the occasion by Victor Manuel, Pedro Guerra, Vanesa
Martín and Joan Valent is very attractive, and works wonderfully in
a musical landscape in which the leitmotif is in an elegiac version
of "Suspiros de España" (Sighs of Spain) and the dramatic (touch),
"Ay Carmela!" evoked in the title. Magnificent too is the dovetail
link of "Funiculí, funiculá" and the popular song "Fiel espada
triunfadora" (Loyal triumphant sword), as well as the contrasting
musical piece "Jarama Valley" sung by a member of the International
Brigades along with "Giovinezza," sung by the Italian captain. A
couple of chronological observations should be pointed out: the
Habanera "Yo te diré" was composed in 1945 (lyrics by Enrique
Llovet and music by Jorge Halpern) for Antonio Roman's movie "Los
últimos de Filipinas", and therefore couldn't have been sung during
the Spanish Civil War which ended in 1939. This is also the case of
the amusing rumba "Que viene el coco, mamá", wonderfully
interpreted by Inma Cuesta, which was part of the operetta of 1948:
"¡A la Habana me voy!", with Antonio and Manuel Paso's libretto and
music by Francisco Alonso and Daniel Montorio.
Lima skillfully combines all the
elements to come up with an amusing and exciting show, and
compelling finish, although the abridgement of the text means that
Carmela's involvement with the prisoners of the International
Brigades is somewhat unclear. Hence the suicidal gesture of the
female singer -who until shortly before, though showing her genius,
was trying to survive in the struggle - is not sufficiently
justified. The couple, comprised of the leading characters,
performs perfectly: Inma Cuesta in her role as Carmela is charming
and sensual with her beautiful, melodic voice. Likewise, Javier
Gutiérrez does a great job, conferring upon his character Paulino,
an enthusiasm tinged with helplessness and desolate humor that wins
over the audience. The rest of the cast performs efficiently,
harmonically and sharply.