1. A river-bank
2. A street
3. A palace-room

• Princess of Luzán, (mezzo)soprano
• Doña Pepita, soprano
• La Tirana, an actress, contralto or mezzo
• Captain Peñeranda, baritone
• Goya, the painter, bass/baritone
• Abbot Ciruela, tenor
• Corregidor, baritone
• Pepe-Hillo, bull-fighter, tenor

2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani/percussion, harp, strings

Small band of plucked instruments (guitars, mandolins etc.) in act I; also in act I a bassoon-player on stage; a boy-soprano, children’s choir (if not available to be replaced by women’s voices).

Musically the work is Spanish operetta at its best. Brilliant use of authentic folklore (rondalla, bolero, seguidilla etc.). Wonderful combination of Spanish music and Italianate opera.

The libretto is highly characteristic of nineteenth-century opera, but fortunately there is a prominent comic note too: the wordly abbot Ciruela, his actress-friend La Tirana and the three bullfighters contribute many amusing scenes. Moreover, there are some delightful scoundrels, such as the sanctimonious monk parading a “footprint of Our Lord”, the blind beggar with perfect eyesight, the fraudulent district-governor, the incompetent general, and above all the intriguer doña Pepita, the prime-minister’s mistress, a truly magnificent vixen.

A rich and rewarding work. Also eminently suitable for amateurs.