Yerma was commissioned in 1955 by Hugh Ross, the conductor of the New York Schola Cantorum and an old friend of Villa-Lobos, and by John Blankenship, at that time head of the drama department at Sarah Lawrence College. The original plan was that GarcĂa Lorca's play would be translated into English by the British poet Alastair Raid and Hugh Ross, but Villa-Lobos immediately began setting the original Spanish text. It was composed partly in New York, partly in Paris, and was finished in 1956.
Date of composition | 1955 |
Premiered | 1971, August 12th (Santa Fe Opera) in Santa Fe, NM, United States |
Type | Opera |
Instruments |
Voice (Soprano)
- Yerma
Voice (Tenor) - Juan, her husband Voice (Baritone) - Victor, Yerma's youthful lover Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Maria, Yerma's friend Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - An old woman Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - Dolores Voice (Tenor) - Masked Man Voice (Soprano) - Masked Woman Voice (Soprano) - 1st Laundress Voice (Soprano) - 2nd Laundress Voice (Soprano) - 3rd Laundress Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - 4th Laundress Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - 5th Laundress Voice (Mezzo-Soprano) - 6th Laundress |
Autotranslations beta |
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Yerma Heitor Villa-Lobos: Yerma Heitor Villa-Lobos: Yerma |