A torturous text but there’s much to admire in the telling of this torrid tale of the Argentinian underworld.

Victorian Opera, Melbourne Recital Centre, August 22, 2013

Astor Piazzolla could lay claim to being the most populist, if not the most popular, composer of the 20th century. Like so many of the greats he was a pupil of Nadia Boulanger who encouraged him to stay true to his Latin roots and his music certainly has the ability to reach well beyond the normal classical audience. His only foray into the world of opera was the 1968 work, María de Buenos Aires, a two act representation of the life, death and rebirth of the eternal Argentinian woman, seen, at least partially, through the eyes of the typical Argentinian machismo male.

María, a sexual objectified ideal, is presented chiefly through the medium of the Goblin, an atavistic character cum narrator who is both infatuated with her and condemning of her world and the society that has condemned her to it. His is primarily a spoken role. Her other advocate is The Cantor, a using and abusing pimp-like character who sings. It’s a Brechtian approach that should work well, especially given that Piazzolla...