Katiuska, Zarzuela opera for the students of Instituto Hemingway

At Instituto Hemingway we have organised another cultural activity for students studying on our Spanish courses. This week, on the 24th September we will meet at the Arriaga theatre to experience the famous Zarzuela titled Katiuska.

The Zarzuela is a Spanish musical genre which became popular at the beginning of the 20th century. Zarzuelas are still very popular in Spain and many of their songs are known by everybody and form part of popular culture. Zarzuela by definition is a form of theatrical music, or a genre of music composed for the stage which emerged in Spain and has instrumental elements, vocal elements, (solos, duos, chorus…) and spoken elements. Zarzuela differs from opera in that it is sung on Spanish, and it includes spoken sections as opposed to the predictable recitations of opera.

Katiuska is the name of opera that we will be going to hear on the 24th September.

Katiuska is a love story about a Russian princess, who is unaware of her noble origins, and a Soviet Commissar during the Revolution. It first opened in 1931 at the Victoria Theatre, Barcelona, and since then has remained a firm favourite among audiences everywhere. The author, Pablo Sorozábal (San Sebastián, 1897-1988), one of the most eminent composers of symphonic and lyrical work in Spanish 20th Century music, has left us this handful of melodies filled with grace and beauty, which linger in the memories of all music lovers.