Federico García Lorca’s last play for the theatre was The House of Bernarda Alba, which was completed two months before his execution in 1936, but premiered only in 1945. Lorca described it in its subtitle as “a drama of women in the villages of Spain.” The characters of the play are the all-female members of an Andalusian household, headed by the 60-year-old Bernarda Alba, who declares on the death of her husband that her daughters may do nothing without her knowledge and consent during the period of mourning. The five daughters, the live-in housekeeper Poncia and Bernarda’s mother María Josefa vegetate in a closed world ruled by stifled feelings, oppressive secrets, yearning and expedience – where every action and thought is nevertheless dictated by men, or rather the lack of them. The 48-year-old Michael John LaChiusa belongs to the new, progressive generation of composers for musical theatre. Rather than following the easy-going tendency of popular musicals, his works are musically more complex, drawing on diverse influences from world music to jazz to classical music. LaChiusa has been nominated for a Tony Award several times, for his musical plays Marie Christine, The Wild Party and Chronicle of a Death Foretold. His work entitled Hello Again, based on Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde, was performed successfully some years ago by the company of the Operetta Theatre under the direction of György Böhm. He wrote his musical play based on the story of Bernarda Alba in 2006, a blend of dance drama, dramatized concert and theatre performance that premiered at the Lincoln Center in New York. Drawing on elements of Spanish music, primarily flamenco, the work is an exciting addition to the repertoire of musical theatre. Presented by the Palace of Arts

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