Michael's Corner

Recently, for the first time, I listened to the opera Ainadamar. I had never heard of the opera or its composer, Osvaldo Golijov. Golijov was born in La Plata, Argentina, to a Jewish family that immigrated to Argentina from Ukraine.

Ainadamar in an Arabic word meaning Fountain of Tears. It is the name of an ancient well near Granada, where, in August 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, the poet and playwrite Federico Garcia Lorca was murdered by Fascist Falangist forces because of his homosexuality.

Aside from an opera, Ainadamar is also a passion play. Its main character is Lorca’s muse, Margarita Xirgu, who collaborated with Lorca on several of his plays. Xirgu, during the unrest of war, fled to Uruguay. She tried to convince Lorca to flee with her, but Lorca refused. Ainadamar merges the symbolism of Lorca’s murder with Xirgu’s guilt that she failed to convince Lorca to flee from war-torn Spain. In the final scene, an image of Lorca appears to Margarita Xirgu, played by Dawn Upshaw. By the “fountain of tears” echo the words: I am freedom. I am the source, the fountain from which you drink. I am freedom, wounded and bleeding hope.

Tap the link below to play Ainadamar’s finale. I hope you find it as emotionally stirring as I did.