"No puede ser" (It cannot be) is an
aria
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
sung by Leandro (
tenor
A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...
) in the second act of the
zarzuela
() is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name of ...
, ''
La tabernera del puerto
''La tabernera del puerto'' (also known as ''Romance Marinero'') is a zarzuela in three acts by composer Pablo Sorozábal. The opera uses a Spanish-language libretto by Federico Romero and Guillermo Fernández-Shaw
Guillermo Fernández-Shaw It ...
'', composed by
Pablo Sorozábal
Pablo Sorozábal Mariezcurrena (18 September 1897 – 26 December 1988) was a Spanish composer of zarzuelas, operas, symphonic works, and the popular ''romanza'', " No puede ser".
He was born in San Sebastián, in a working-class family. ...
to a
libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
by
Federico Romero
Federico Romero Saráchaga (11 November 1886 – 30 June 1976) was a Spanish poet and essayist. He is particularly known as a writer of libretti, primarily for zarzuelas. Although he was born in Oviedo and lived at times in both Zaragoza and Ma ...
and
Guillermo Fernández-Shaw
Guillermo Fernández-Shaw Iturralde (26 February 1893 - 17 August 1965) was a Spanish poet and journalist. He is particularly known as a writer of libretti, primarily for zarzuelas. With Federico Romero, he wrote the libretti for two of the b ...
. ''La tabernera del puerto'' premiered in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
in 1936. One of the most famous arias in the
Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
, ''No puede ser'' has been part of the concert repertoire of many Spanish tenors, including
Alfredo Kraus,
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini.
Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...
and
Plácido Domingo
José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...
who sang it in the 1990
Three Tenors
The Three Tenors were an operatic singing trio, active during the 1990s and early 2000s, and termed as a supergroup (a title normally reserved for rock and pop groups) consisting of Italian Luciano Pavarotti and Spaniards Plácido Domingo and ...
concert.
References
*Webber, Christopher
''La tabernera del puerto'' 2002
External links
on zarzuela.net
Compositions by Pablo Sorozábal
Opera excerpts
1936 songs
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