The zarzuela Pan y toros (Bread and Bulls), one of the great masterpieces of maestro Francisco Asenjo Barbieri and librettist José Picón, opens today at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid. The work will run until the 23rd of this month.
This new production of Pan y toros, with the stage directorial debut of actor Juan Echanove, will be conducted by Guillermo García Calvo, musical director of the coliseum. As usual, the pit will be occupied by the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid. The production also features the surprising set design and the reliable and subtle costumes by Ana Garay, the lighting by Juan Gómez Cornejo, the choreography by Manuela Barrero and the Goyaesque video-scene by Álvaro Luna, with the collaboration of Elvira Ruiz Zurita.
Pan y toros is a grand and historical zarzuela, instructive and entertaining, that speaks of us, of Spain, of our history in the 18th and 19th centuries. It transports the spectator to Goyaesque Madrid amid conspiracies and confrontations between the two Spains represented by liberals and conservatives. It is, then, a curious story of intrigues of the colourful group of liberals against the conservative and arrogant clique of Manuel Godoy, the Duke of Alcunia, who governed Spain in the name of Charles IV, and which served the playwright José Picón to trace the plot as a brilliant tapestry, rich in colour and full of theatrical life. Tickets can be purchased at this link.
