The Music of Cervantes
Known as the father of the modern novel, four centuries after his death Cervantes still charms and captivates audiences around the globe.
Best known for “Don Quixote,” Spain’s revered author Miguel de Cervantes life was just as intriguing as the delusional knight in his famous novel.
Cervantes — who died 400 years ago on April 22, 1616, survived a sea battle, capture by pirates, a five-year detention in Algiers and several stints in prison.
Don Quixote which wasn’t published until Cervantes was in his late 50s, achieved overnight success. Regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written, it has become one of the world’s most translated works. It is the tale of a man who thinks that he is a knight and set outs to rid the world of its ills. Cervantes’ portrayal of a hero as imperfect as any other human being was revolutionary, and inspired many books, films and musical compositions for the theatre and the concert stage. Therefore we commemorate the life of one of history’s greatest writers with the addition of numerous interpretations of his works, by some classical greats such as Telemann, Ibert and Offenbach.
As the legendary Don Quixote said, “Thou hast seen nothing yet.”
This Spanish zarzuela is based on Cervantes’s novel ‘La ilustre fregona’. Cervantes is part of the action of this zarzuela, but out of respect for the author the role is conceived as a speaking part
The novel ‘Don Quixote’ is among those works of literature that are most often set to music. Telemann’s orchestral suite is a rarity and a real gem among the many compositions of the Baroque era that use Cervantes’s novel as a basis.
Legendary Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin is maybe the most famous interpreter of the title role in Massenet’s opera. In this recording of the fifth act of the opera he sings both the role of Don Quixote and that of Sancho Pansa (as did several of his colleagues later on — see the recordings of Vanni-Marcoux and George London that have also been added this week.)
Jacques Ibert’s most famous composition based on ‘Don Quixote’ is the music for the 1933 movie featuring Feodor Chaliapin in the title role, but he also composed this work for soloists, chorus and orchestra which is a real rarity on the concert stage.
This operetta by Offenbach is based on Cervantes’s novel ‘Los dos habladores’ and is a sparkling recording in German which may be regarded as authentic because the operetta was first performed in the small German town of Bad Ems.
