''Jardín de Oriente'' (''Garden of the Orient'') is an opera in one act composed by
Joaquín Turina to a Spanish-language libretto by
Gregorio Martínez Sierra and his wife
María Lejárraga. It premiered at the
Teatro Real in Madrid on 6 March 1923. The story is set in the palace and gardens of a North African
sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
and recounts the love story between one of the sultan's wives and the man who defeats him in battle.
Background and performance history
''Jardín de Oriente'' was the third of Turina's three operas, and the second to be staged. Gregorio Martínez Sierra had also written the libretto for Turina's second opera ''
Margot Margot ( , ) is a feminine given name, a French language, French diminutive of Marguerite (given name), Marguerite that has long been used as an independent name. Variant spellings in use include Margo (given name), Margo and Margaux (name), Margaux ...
'', and although his wife was not credited on the printed libretto for ''Margot'', she had a significant input on that as well, particularly on the depiction of the female characters.
[ Marco, Tomás (1993)]
''Spanish Music in the Twentieth Century''
pp. 38–39. Harvard University Press
Turina began the composition of ''Jardin'' on 1 March 1922 and finished it in October 1922, with the final orchestration completed on 24 January 1923. The opera premiered at the Teatro Real in Madrid the following March in a production designed by José Olalla with the orchestra conducted by Arturo Saco del Valle. The work has only been rarely performed since then. There was a fully staged revival at the
Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid in 1982 to mark the 100th anniversary of Turina's birth, and a performance in concert version at the
Auditorio Nacional in Madrid in 1999 marking the 50th anniversary of Turina's death.
[Franco, Enrique (23 February 1982)]
"A 50 años de su estreno vuelve 'Jardín de Oriente', de Turina"
'' El País''. Retrieved 18 November 2014 [. joaquinturina.com. Retrieved 18 November 2014 .]
There is no complete recording of the opera but Turina's piano transcription of the dance ("La Danza") has been recorded by
Albert Guinovart for
Harmonia Mundi (1996) and Antonio Soria for Edicions Albert Moraleda (1998).
Roles
Notes
References
External links
*Castell, Ángel María (7 March 1923)
"La ópera ''Jardín de oriente'' del Maestro Turina" ''
ABC'' (review of the world premiere)
Complete manuscript score of ''Jardín de oriente '' (Fundación Juan March)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jardin de oriente
Operas by Joaquín Turina
1923 operas
1920s in Spanish music
Spanish-language operas
One-act operas
Operas