Premiere: 12 April 2024
Csokonai Fórum, Latinovits Zoltán hall
In Astor Piazzolla’s now classic tango-opera, María De Buenos Aires, the titular character, María is not only the soul of her city, Buenos Aires, but also the personification of tango itself. She is a girl who lives by night, as the Argentine heart is only truly revealed when tango is danced in the dark hours. Her passion for dance is entwined with her fate: she becomes a prostitute, falls in love, but ends up in the clutches of thieves and pimps, and is ultimately murdered. In the second part, we only see her spirit, floating in the city that embodies Hell. However, with the help of El Duende, a goblin-like figure from Argentine mythology, she finds redemption. Yet, her rebirth and aspirations of becoming a mother prove futile, as mirrored in the phrase that best describes her nature: “she was born on a day when God was drunk.” This enigmatic statement is underscored by a musical world that brilliantly combines classical music with jazz and traditional tango, blending tight rhythmic compositions with dissonant tones. András Lóránt’ direction further enhances this by highlighting the symbolic meanings within Horacio Ferrer’s text related to each character.
Director – choreographer: András Lóránt
