The characters and setting of the opera are suggested by the work of
the Spanish painter Goya. The opera opens with a crowd of majas and
majos enjoying a holiday on the outskirts of Madrid. Some of the
majas are engaged in the popular pastime of tossing the pelele (a
man of straw) in a blanket. Paquiro the toreador is paying
compliments to the women. Pepa, his sweetheart of the day, arrives
in her dogcart. Popular, she is warmly welcomed. Soon Rosario, a
lady of rank, arrives in her sedan-chair to keep a tryst with her
lover, Fernando, a captain in the Royal Spanish Guards. Paquiro
reminds her of a baile de candil (a ball given in a room lit by
candlelight) which she once attended. He invites her to go again.
Fernando overhears his remarks. His jealousy is aroused. He informs
Paquiro that Rosario shall go to the ball, but that he,
Fernando, will accompany her. He extracts Rosario's promise to go
with him, while Pepa, enraged by Paquiro's neglect, vows vengeance
upon her.
The second tableau shows the scene at the ball. Fernando appears
with Rosario. His haughty bearing and disdainful speech anger all
present. The two men arrange for a duel that evening, and when
Rosario recovers from a swoon, Fernando takes her away.
The third tableau reveals Rosario's garden. Fernando visits her
before keeping his appointment with Paquiro. When a bell strikes the
fatal hour, Fernando tears himself away. He is followed hesitatingly
by Rosario. Soon the silence is broken by a cry from Fernando,
followed by a shriek from Rosario. The lovers reappear. Rosario
supports Fernando to a stone bench where he dies in her arms.
Enrique Granados, perhaps the first important composer from Spain to
visit North America, was born July 27, 1867, at Lerida, Catalonia. He
died March 24, 1916, a passenger on the Sussex, torpedoed in the
English Channel. The libretto for his "Goyescas" is by Fernando
Periquet.