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The House of Bernarda Alba

By Federico Garcia Lorca. Tragic drama about the familial passions and tensions that arise after a tyrannical matriarch imposes a long period of mourning on her daughters.

Federico Garcia Lorca's final play.
Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata

Following the death of her second husband Bernarda Alba, a tyrannical matriarch, rules over her house and daughters, imposing an eight-year period of mourning.

Federico Garcia Lorca (1898 - 1936) is, with Cervantes, the best known figure in Spanish literature. Written in 1936 and completed just a few months before his execution, The House of Bernarda Alba is Lorca's final tragedy

Male chorus singers ..... Les Pratt, Martin Medina, Nathan Jenkins, Andrew Johnston, David Cane, Peter Edge, George Leeming.
Musical direction and original music composition by Conrad Nelson

"There lived Dona Bernarda, a very old widow who kept an inexorable and tyrannical watch over her unmarried daughters. They were prisoners deprived of free will... I saw them pass like shadows, always silent, and always dressed in black. It was a silent and cold hell in the African sun, a tomb for the living under the harsh rule of a dark jailer." - Lorca's description of a childhood memory which inspired the play.

1 hour, 25 minutes

Last on

Sun 18 Sep 2016 21:00

Music Played

  • Isaac Alb茅niz

    El Puerto (Iberia Book 1)

    Performer: Alicia de Larrocha.
    • Albeniz: Iberia; Navarra; Suite Espanola - Larrocha.
    • Decca.
    • 2.

Credits

Role Contributor
Bernarda Alba Sian Thomas
La Poncia Brigit Forsyth
Maria Josefa Pauline Jefferson
Angustias Kate Coogan
Magdalena Victoria Brazier
Martirio Christine Bottomley
Adela Elaine Cassidy
Prudencia Christine Cox
Girl Daisy Jones
Singer Les Pratt
Singer Martin Medina
Singer Nathan Jenkins
Singer Andrew Johnston
Singer David Cane
Singer Peter Edge
Singer George Leeming
Composer Conrad Nelson
Adaptor Pauline Harris
Producer Pauline Harris
Director Pauline Harris

Broadcasts

  • Sun 2 Mar 2014 22:00
  • Sun 18 Sep 2016 21:00