Maria de Buenos Aires - Cambra XX

If I were able to attend only one more performance of Maria de Buenos Aires between now and the time that giant asteroid destroys our species, I would choose a production by Pablo Zinger and his Cambra XX. Today's video of Milonga carrieguera para María la niña demonstrates why. While the instrumentation may not be authentic to the original (what, no bandoneón?), I think the sound and the intent is. It is more oratorio than opera, as was the original, and the singers style the sound more as "street" music than as opera music. It is very much in the spirit of the original as captured in Piazzolla's recording of Maria.

Today's video is from a December, 2009 production at the Palau de la Música in Valencia but that is clearly not the first time that Zinger has provided the musical direction for the work - I find traces on the web of productions in 2007 and 2008 also. In each case, vocals are by Carina Gringoli and Ramón de Andrés but narration is by a different actor in each year. I am quite happy to have Gringoli and de Andrés in that final pre-asteroid production but since Zinger is still searching for just the right voice for narrator, I will request Horacio Ferrer who not only wrote the book for Maria but also provided the narration in the original and countless productions since then.

If you want a feel for the broader production, you may want to view this highlights video from 2008. If the video of Milonga carrieguera does not appear below, click here.



To learn more about Piazzolla videos, visit the Piazzolla Video site.