Flamenco and Lorca's Bodas de Sangre at Gala Theatre
Flamenco guitarist Ramin Rad and actor Monalisa Arias in the lobby of Gala Theatre after the show. April 2, 2008 10:13pm
Last night (Wednesday), I had the pleasure of attending a preview of Federico García Lorca's Bodas de Sangre at the Gala Theatre, directed by Hugo Medrano. I looked forward to it with much anticipation because this was the first time I'd seen a live performance of this play. And I didn't have anything else to compare it to aside from the 1981 film by Carlos Saura starring Antonio Gades and Cristina Hoyos. Well OK, I did read through the play in the original Spanish version when I took a course titled "Federico García Lorca: Poetry, Theater and Music" at George Washington University, but that was three years ago. Last night, as I watched this tragic tale unfold with live actors onstage speaking in Spanish, I still had to occasionally look up at the English surtitles. I think I do a decent job with my conversational Spanish. It's my poetic Spanish vocabulary, where I'm lacking.
In any case, I attended this performance at the invitation of my fellow guitarist friend Ramin Rad whose music was used for the interludes between scenes. Since this was more of a play than a flamenco performance, I allowed myself to be taken in by the overall story and the acting. From what I could remember of the interludes, they were based on the palos of tarantas and soleá--very appropriate for a story about death and unrequited love. "Bodas de sangre" translates as "Blood Wedding."
In the middle of the play, local dancer Genevieve Guinn "Genoveva" performs a tientos accompanied by Ramin on guitar with cante by one of the actors who also happens to be a multi-talented musician: Monalisa Arias.
Excerpt of Lorca's poem set to music by Ramin Rad.
Ramin composed a tientos based on the poem by Lorca titled Gacela del amor desesperado. And Monalisa learned the song specifically for this show. To be honest, she's not a flamenco singer yet, but still I was very impressed that she was able to pull it off! She's very talented--not only is she a singer-songwriter, but she also plays guitar, bass, drums and, as she jokingly adds in her website bio, the cowbell. :-) On top of that, she's an actor and a fight choreographer and from what I could tell in the few minutes I spoke with her, a very down-to-earth person.
Ramin Rad and dancer Genevieve "Genoveva" Guinn backstage at Gala Theatre. (photo courtesy of Monalisa Arias)
In any case, I'm not going to pretend I know a whole lot about theatre, cuz I don't. Over the years, I think the only times I've gone out to see a play was when a friend of mine was in it. So what do I have to go on? Hmmm...from what I can remember about my semester of studying Lorca is that some of the major recurring themes in his works include death and unrequited love (there's more than that of course). Was that the case in his Bodas de Sangre? Oh yeah, definitely! Did this performance touch upon those themes and bring the emotions to life through the acting, set design, lighting and sound? Absolutely! Of course, I'm biased being a musician myself, but I'd have to say that the music played a big part in my enjoyment of this performance. Kudos to my flamenco friends Ramin and Genevieve for giving me a reason and come out to Gala.
Most of the cast for Bodas de Sangre backstage at Gala Theatre. (photo courtesy of Monalisa Arias)
To my knowledge, it's not too often that one gets to see Lorca's works performed onstage in DC. So if you enjoy Lorca or are just curious, this is your chance. Bodas de Sangre is playing throughout April 2008. For more information, visit the Gala Theatre website.
UPDATE: Ramin and Genenieve were mentioned in a review in the Washington Post.
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