Presented here for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, Manuel de Falla's "La vida breve" is arguably the greatest opera in the entire Spanish repertoire, a tragic Zarzuela, a mix of Verismo, local Andalusian colour and French Impressionism. Staged by the brilliant Giancarlo del Monaco (Metropolitan Opera, La Scala) with legendary music director Lorin Maazel and a cast of Zarzuela specialists of the highest order, this performance from Valencia was hailed triumphant. "Simply a stroke of genius," wrote Spain's Opera Viva about del Monaco's austere, minimalist staging at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia. Maestro Maazel, whom El Pais hailed as the "triunfador" of the evening, led an exquisite array of soloists headed by Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domas, Jorge de Leon and Maria Luisa Corbacho.
