Piazzolla: Maria de Buenos Aires (Tango Operita)

City gives birth to girl. City loses girl to shadowy underworld. City reunites with girl's spirit. That is the story of María de Buenos Aires, a 30-year-old Spanish-language operetta composed by Astor Piazzolla, the foremost proponent of modern tango. This recording was encouraged by violinist Gidon Kremer, resulting in an elegant new arrangement (down from the original eleven musicians to eight, including the late Piazzolla's beloved bandoneon) and the appearance of Horacio Ferrer, who wrote the libretto, to perform the role of Goblin (or El Duende), the narrator. Ferrer's textured spoken baritone brings a weary romance to the work, contrasting with Julia Zenko's robust María, who can enunciate pizzicato syllable-for-syllable runs without losing the meaning of her phrases, and who trills her r's with an emphasis equal parts street-wise and regal. For much of the operetta, María is actually the shadow spirit of María, cursed to wander the city; if Zenko's ethereal María seems more passionate than most mortals do, one must assume that Ferrer approves of the interpretation. The ensemble is exceptional, with particular emphasis given to Vadim Sakharov's jazzy piano and Kremer's elegiac violin. The production shows a tremendous amount of emotional restraint, in contrast with the María on Milan Records. At times, Ferrer's phantasmagoric poetry proves hysterically surreal. Who else, besides perhaps Woody Allen, could have composed an "Aria of the Anyalysts" in which María confronts her memories. --Marc Weidenbaum