The women of Villadiego (1933)
Genre: Comic pastime in two acts.
Text: Emilio González del Castillo and José Muñoz Román.
Music: Francisco Alonso.
Premiere: May 12, 1933, at Teatro Pavón, Madrid.
Performers of the premiere: Celia Gámez, Olvido Rodríguez, Cora Gámez, Conchita Ballesta, Pepita Arroyo, Faustino Bretaño, Eduardo Pedrote, José Bárcenas, Luis Gago.
Synopsis: Following a serious row, the men and women of a small Castilian village decide to live separately. The men of Valdeperales, the name of their village, ask a deputy of the local Public Administration to send some prostitutes to replace their lost women. The deputy, who does not receive the letter, sends in his place a group of Scottish students traveling through Spain. This misunderstanding gives rise to a whole series of comical situations.
The score that maestro Alonso composed for Las de Villadiego, comprises a great variety of styles; chotis, pasacalle, fado, marcha, habanera, blues and foxtrot. This work, starring Celia Gámez, the queen of the genre in the thirties, was a great success and was performed throughout Spain.
The numbers most popular with the audience were the chotis “Tobacco and matches”, also known as “La Colasa”, the foxtrot “Las Escocesas” and the pasacalle “Caminito de la fuente”.
In 1985, a version of Las de Villadiego was premiered on television. Fernando García de la Vega directed the Spanish musical comedy series for Televisión Española, bringing several works by maestro Alonso to viewers. The cast included María José Cantudo, Quique Camoiras, Pedro Valentín, Tomás Zorí, Fernando Santos, María Garralón, José María Pou, Irene Daina, Adriana Ozores and Rafael Castejón. There is a recording of this work currently on the market.
Playlist on youtube
Discography:
1933. The Sonifolk record label launched in 2000 the album La Revista musical española. Vol. 17, which contains Las de Villadiego, Una rubia peligrosa, ¡Vales un Perú! and ¡Que me la traigan! Performers: Celia Gámez, Olvido Rodríguez, Antonio Martelo, Faustino Bretaño, Orquesta Carús and los Bolivios y tiples. Orquesta del Teatro Pavón conducted by Alonso and Vela.