De Falla La Vida Breve

The same could be said of Falla’s La Vida Breve, where Juanjo Mena’s conducting is in turns spicy and sombre, capturing the air of passion and mystery that pervades the glamorous scoring. The offstage choral work is handled very well, as is the Voice from the Forge, dramatically sung by Gustavo Peña. As Salud, mezzo Nancy Fabiola Herrera gives a solid but not especially alluring performance – if you already have a favourite singer in this role, say de los Ángeles or Berganza, you’re unlikely to be swayed in this direction. Aquiles Machado’s tenor is confident in his smaller contributions, as are Cristina Faus as Salud’s grandmother and José Antonio López as her uncle. But ultimately it is the orchestral and choral contributions that win the day.

Francis Muzzu Read the full review on Agora Classica