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{{Short description|Play by Lorca}}
{{Short description|Play by Federico García Lorca}}
{{For|the film adaptations|The House of Bernarda Alba (disambiguation)}}
{{For|the film adaptations|The House of Bernarda Alba (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox play
{{Infobox play
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}}
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'''''The House of Bernarda Alba''''' ({{lang-es|La casa de Bernarda Alba}}) is a [[play (theatre)|play]] by the [[Spain|Spanish]] [[dramatist]] [[Federico García Lorca]]. Commentators have often grouped it with ''[[Blood Wedding (play)|Blood Wedding]]'' and ''[[Yerma]]'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not include it in his plan for a "trilogy of the Spanish land" (which remained unfinished at the time of his murder).<ref>Maurer, Christopher. (1992). Introduction. ''Three Plays''. By [[Federico García Lorca]]. Trans. Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata. London: Penguin. p. ix {{ISBN|0-14-018383-3}}.</ref>
'''''The House of Bernarda Alba''''' ({{langx|es|La casa de Bernarda Alba}}) is a [[play (theatre)|play]] by the [[Spain|Spanish]] [[dramatist]] [[Federico García Lorca]]. Commentators have often grouped it with ''[[Blood Wedding (play)|Blood Wedding]]'' and ''[[Yerma]]'' as the [[Rural Trilogy]]. Garcia Lorca did not include it in his plan for a "trilogy of the Spanish land" (which remained unfinished at the time of his murder).<ref>Maurer, Christopher. (1992). Introduction. ''Three Plays''. By [[Federico García Lorca]]. Trans. Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata. London: Penguin. p. ix {{ISBN|0-14-018383-3}}.</ref>


Garcia Lorca described the play in its subtitle as ''a [[drama]] of women in the villages of Spain''. ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' was Garcia Lorca's last play, completed on 19 June 1936, two months before Garcia Lorca's death during the [[Spanish Civil War]]. The play was first performed on 8 March 1945 at the [[Avenida Theatre]] in [[Buenos Aires]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Modern Drama in Theory and Practice: Volume 2, Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNkfv6l7-OgC&pg=PA90 | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] | isbn=052123-0683 |pages=90 | last=Styan |first=J. L. | year=1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Federico García Lorca | publisher=[[Frederick Ungar Publishing Company]] | isbn=080442540X | pages=[https://archive.org/details/federicogarcialo0000lond/page/33 33] | last=Londré | first=Felicia Hardison | author-link=Felicia Hardison Londré | year=1984 | url=https://archive.org/details/federicogarcialo0000lond/page/33 }}</ref> The play centers on the events of a house in [[Andalusia]] during a period of mourning, in which Bernarda Alba (aged 60) wields total control over her five daughters Angustias (39 years old), Magdalena (30), Amelia (27), Martirio (24), and Adela (20). The housekeeper (La Poncia) and Bernarda's elderly mother (María Josefa) also live there.
Garcia Lorca described the play in its subtitle as ''a [[drama]] of women in the villages of Spain''. ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' was Garcia Lorca's last play, completed on 19 June 1936, two months before [[Federico García Lorca#Assassination|his assassination]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]]. The play was first performed on 8 March 1945 at the [[Avenida Theatre]] in [[Buenos Aires]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Modern Drama in Theory and Practice: Volume 2, Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNkfv6l7-OgC&pg=PA90 | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] | isbn=052123-0683 |pages=90 | last=Styan |first=J. L. | year=1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Federico García Lorca | publisher=[[Frederick Ungar Publishing Company]] | isbn=080442540X | pages=[https://archive.org/details/federicogarcialo0000lond/page/33 33] | last=Londré | first=Felicia Hardison | author-link=Felicia Hardison Londré | year=1984 | url=https://archive.org/details/federicogarcialo0000lond/page/33 }}</ref> The play centers on the events of a house in [[Andalusia]] during a period of mourning, in which Bernarda Alba (aged 60) wields total control over her five daughters Angustias (39 years old), Magdalena (30), Amelia (27), Martirio (24), and Adela (20). The housekeeper (Poncia) and Bernarda's elderly mother (María Josefa) also live there.


The deliberate exclusion of any male character from the action helps build up the high level of sexual tension that is present throughout the play. Pepe "el Romano", the love interest of Bernarda's daughters and suitor of Angustias, never appears on stage. The play explores themes of repression, passion, and conformity, and inspects the effects of men upon women.
The deliberate exclusion of any male character from the action helps build up the high level of sexual tension that is present throughout the play. Pepe "el Romano", the love interest of Bernarda's daughters and suitor of Angustias, never appears on stage. The play explores themes of repression, passion, and conformity, and inspects the effects of men upon women.
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Tension explodes as family members confront one another, leading to Bernarda pursuing Pepe with a gun. A gunshot is heard outside the home. Martirio and Bernarda return and imply that Pepe has been killed. Adela flees into another room. With Adela out of earshot, Martirio tells everyone else that Pepe actually fled on his pony. Bernarda remarks that as a woman she can't be blamed for poor aim. A loud noise is heard; Bernarda immediately calls for Adela, who has locked herself into a room. When she doesn't respond, Bernarda and Poncia force the door open. Poncia's shriek is heard. She returns with her hands clasped around her neck and warns the family not to enter the room. Adela, not knowing that Pepe survived, has hanged herself.
Tension explodes as family members confront one another, leading to Bernarda pursuing Pepe with a gun. A gunshot is heard outside the home. Martirio and Bernarda return and imply that Pepe has been killed. Adela flees into another room. With Adela out of earshot, Martirio tells everyone else that Pepe actually fled on his pony. Bernarda remarks that as a woman she can't be blamed for poor aim. A loud noise is heard; Bernarda immediately calls for Adela, who has locked herself into a room. When she doesn't respond, Bernarda and Poncia force the door open. Poncia's shriek is heard. She returns with her hands clasped around her neck and warns the family not to enter the room. Adela, not knowing that Pepe survived, has hanged herself.


[[File:The House Of Bernarda Alba by Hamazkayin Arek.jpg|thumb|450px|The House Of Bernarda Alba by the senior generation of [[Hamazkayin]] “Arek” Theatre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hamazkayin.com/en/news/%D5%BA%D5%A5%D5%BC%D5%B6%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%BF%D5%A1-%D5%A1%D5%AC%D5%BA%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AB-%D5%BF%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%D5%A8-%D5%A9%D5%A1%D5%BF%D6%80%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A3%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%A5/|title="The House of Bernarda Alba" Performed (Lebanon)|date=22 February 2016}}</ref>]]
[[File:The House Of Bernarda Alba by Hamazkayin Arek.jpg|thumb|450px|''The House of Bernarda Alba'' by the senior generation of [[Hamazkayin]] "Arek" Theatre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hamazkayin.com/en/news/%D5%BA%D5%A5%D5%BC%D5%B6%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%BF%D5%A1-%D5%A1%D5%AC%D5%BA%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AB-%D5%BF%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B6%D5%A8-%D5%A9%D5%A1%D5%BF%D6%80%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A3%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%A9%D5%A5/|title="The House of Bernarda Alba" Performed (Lebanon)|date=22 February 2016}}</ref>]]


The closing lines of the play show Bernarda characteristically preoccupied with the family's reputation, not registering that Adela and Pepe had an affair due to her moral code. She insists that Adela has died a virgin and demands that this be made known to the whole town. Bernarda forbids her daughters to cry.
The closing lines of the play show Bernarda characteristically preoccupied with the family's reputation, not registering that Adela and Pepe had an affair due to her moral code. She insists that Adela has died a virgin and demands that this be made known to the whole town. Bernarda forbids her daughters to cry.


==Adaptations==
==Adaptations==
Film adaptations include:
Stage adaptations include:
⚫
* ''[[The House of Bernarda Alba (1987 film)|La casa de Bernarda Alba]]'' (1987)<ref>{{cite book |title= Vision Machines: Cinema, Literature, and Sexuality in Spain and Cuba, 1983–1993 |last=Smith |first=Paul Julian |year=1996 |publisher=Verso |isbn=1-85984-079-5 |page=20 |jstor=24487859}}</ref>
* English language British film of a Royal Court Theatre, London 1986 production ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' (1991)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102066/reviews|title = The House of Bernarda Alba (TV Movie 1991) - IMDb}}</ref>
* 1991, ''[[The house of Bernarda Alba]]'' with: [[Glenda Jackson ]] (Bernarda Alba), [[Joan Plowright]] (Poncia). Director: [[Nuria Espert]].
⚫
* 1991 Indian film directed by [[Govind Nihlani]], ''[[Rukmavati Ki Haveli|Rukmavati ki Haveli]]''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Essential Mystery: The Major Filmmakers of Indian Art Cinema |last=Hood |first=John W. |year=2000 |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |isbn=81-250-1870-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/essentialmystery00hood/page/459 459] |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialmystery00hood/page/459 }}</ref>
* Since 2004, the Moroccan adaptation of La casa de Bernarda Alba has been played in theatres in Morocco and across the world. The adaptation was done by Yassine Fennane, and played by Nora Skalli, Samia Akariou, Nadia El Alami, Saâdia Azegoun, Saâdia Ladib and Hind Esâadidi. Later on, the play was extended to a television series called ''[[Bnat Lalla Mennana]]'' and was aired on ''[[2M (TV channel)|2M]]'' between 2012 and 2014.


In 1967, choreographer [[Eleo Pomare]] adapted the play into his ballet, ''Las Desenamoradas'',<ref>{{cite news |last=Kisselgoff |first=Anna |author-link=Anna Kisselgoff |title=Dance: Pomare's "Las Desenamoradas" |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=16 February 1981 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/16/arts/dance-pomare-s-las-desenamoradas.html |access-date=16 January 2011 |page=17 }}</ref> featuring music by [[John Coltrane]].
* 1973: English adaptation by [[Tom Stoppard]]. It premiered at the [[Greenwich Theatre]] with [[Robin Phillips]] as the director.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gardner |first=Lyn |date=2009-04-29 |title=The House of Bernarda Alba |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/apr/30/theatre-review-house-bernarda-alba |access-date=2024-07-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
* 1979: ''Birjis Qadar Ka Kunba'' (The family of Birjis Qadar), a Hindi adaptation by [[Raghuvir Sahay]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=गोयल |first=डॉ आरती 'लोकेश' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2lJKDwAAQBAJ |title=रघुवीर सहाय के गद्य में सामाजिक चेतना: Raghuvir Sahay ke Gadya mein Samajik Chetna |publisher=Notionpress |language=hi}}</ref>
* 2004: ''Bnat Lalla Mennana'' (The daughters of Lalla Mennana), a Moroccan adaptation by the Takoon theatre group. It was made into a TV series in 2012.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jay |first=Cleo |date=2013 |title=Acting up: performance and the politics of womanhood in contemporary Morocco |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42005330 |journal=Journal of African Cultural Studies |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=305–318 |doi=10.1080/13696815.2013.819777 |jstor=42005330 |issn=1369-6815}}</ref>
* 2012: [[Emily Mann (director)|Emily Mann]]'s adaptation into [[Iran|Iranian]] setting. It opened at the [[Almeida Theatre]] under the director [[Bijan Sheibani]], starring [[Shohreh Aghdashloo]] as Bernarda.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kellaway |first=Kate |date=2012-01-29 |title=The House of Bernarda Alba – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/jan/29/house-bernarda-alba-lorca-almeida |access-date=2024-07-17 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>
* 2018: Australian adaptation by [[Patricia Cornelius]] for [[Melbourne Theatre Company]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Woodhead |first=Cameron |date=4 June 2018 |title=Mother smothers, but daughters are lost in MTC House of Bernarda Alba |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/mother-smothers-but-daughters-are-lost-in-mtc-house-of-bernarda-alba-20180601-p4ziwv.html |access-date=14 August 2019 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref> It was staged at the [[Arts Centre Melbourne|Fairfax Studio]] and featured [[Melita Jurisic]] as Bernadette (Bernarda).<ref>{{cite news |last=Byrne |first=Tim |date=2 June 2018 |title=The House of Bernarda Alba |url=https://www.timeout.com/melbourne/theatre/the-house-of-bernarda-alba |access-date=14 August 2019 |magazine=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Croggon |first=Alison |date=6 June 2018 |title=The silence of atrocity: The House of Bernarda Alba |url=https://witnessperformance.com/the-silence-of-atrocity-the-house-of-bernarda-alba/ |access-date=14 August 2019 |work=Witness Performance}}</ref>
* 2023: Adaptation by [[Alice Birch]] at the [[Royal National Theatre]], with [[Harriet Walter]] as Bernarda Alba.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The House of Bernarda Alba {{!}} National Theatre |url=https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-house-of-bernarda-alba/ |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=www.nationaltheatre.org.uk |language=en-GB}}</ref>


=== Film and television ===
⚫
The play was adapted as an opera, ''[[Bernarda Albas Haus]]'', by [[Aribert Reimann]]; it premiered in 2000.<ref>{{cite dictionary |first=Alison |last=Latham |dictionary=The Oxford Dictionary of Musical Works |year=2004 |page=17 |isbn=0198610203 |title=Bernarda Albas Haus ('The House of Bernarda Alba') |quote=Opera in three acts by Aribert Reimann to a libretto by the composer after Enrique Beck's German translation of Federico Garcıa Lorca's play La casa de Bernarda Alba (1936) (Munich, ...}}</ref>
Film and television adaptations include:
* 1976: [[BBC]] production of the same title in English, directed by [[Claude Whatham]], with [[Mary Morris]] as Bernarda.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1976-07-28 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/bd61a5917af84c0896e816db8518b772 |access-date=2024-07-17 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
⚫
* 1987: [[The House of Bernarda Alba (1987 film)|Film adaptation of the same title]], directed by [[Mario Camus]].<ref>{{cite book |title= Vision Machines: Cinema, Literature, and Sexuality in Spain and Cuba, 1983–1993 |last=Smith |first=Paul Julian |year=1996 |publisher=Verso |isbn=1-85984-079-5 |page=20 |jstor=24487859}}</ref>
* 1991: TV film adaptation of the same title in English, directed by [[Núria Espert]], with [[Glenda Jackson]] as Bernarda.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=John J. |date=1991-12-18 |title=Review/Television; A Tyrannical Widow And Her 5 Daughters |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/18/arts/review-television-a-tyrannical-widow-and-her-5-daughters.html |access-date=2024-07-17 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
⚫
* 1991: ''[[Rukmavati Ki Haveli|Rukmavati ki Haveli]]'' (Rukmavati's mansion), a Hindi film adaptation set in [[Rajasthan]], directed by [[Govind Nihlani]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Essential Mystery: The Major Filmmakers of Indian Art Cinema |last=Hood |first=John W. |year=2000 |publisher=[[Orient Longman]] |isbn=81-250-1870-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/essentialmystery00hood/page/459 459] |url=https://archive.org/details/essentialmystery00hood/page/459 }}</ref>


=== Other ===
⚫
In 2006, the play was adapted into musical form by [[Michael John LaChiusa]]. Under the title ''[[Bernarda Alba (musical)|Bernarda Alba]]'', it opened at [[Lincoln Center]]'s [[Mitzi Newhouse Theater]] on March 6, 2006, starring [[Phylicia Rashad]] in the title role, with a cast that also included [[Daphne Rubin-Vega]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/07/theater/reviews/07alba.html |title=Sex and a Monster Mother Seething in Sunny Spain |access-date=28 October 2008 |last=Brantley |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Brantley |date=7 March 2006 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref>
Other adaptations include:


* 1967: ''Las Desenamoradas'', a ballet adaptation by [[Eleo Pomare]], featuring music by [[John Coltrane]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Kisselgoff |first=Anna |author-link=Anna Kisselgoff |date=16 February 1981 |title=Dance: Pomare's "Las Desenamoradas" |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/16/arts/dance-pomare-s-las-desenamoradas.html |access-date=16 January 2011 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=17}}</ref>
In 2012, [[Emily Mann (director)|Emily Mann]] adapted [[Federico García Lorca]]'s original, shifting the location from 1930s Andalusia, Spain, to contemporary [[Iran]]. Her adaptation opened at the [[Almeida Theatre]] under the director [[Bijan Sheibani]], starring [[Shohreh Aghdashloo]] as the title character and Hara Yannas as Adela.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.almeida.co.uk/event/bernardaalba |title=The House of Bernarda Alba |work=[[Almeida Theatre]] |year=2012 |access-date=14 August 2019 |publisher=[[Arts Council England]]}}</ref>
⚫
* 2000: ''[[Bernarda Albas Haus]]'', an opera adaptation by [[Aribert Reimann]].<ref>{{cite dictionary |year=2004 |title=Bernarda Albas Haus ('The House of Bernarda Alba') |dictionary=The Oxford Dictionary of Musical Works |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Latham |first=Alison |page=17 |isbn=0198610203 |quote=Opera in three acts by Aribert Reimann to a libretto by the composer after Enrique Beck's German translation of Federico Garcıa Lorca's play La casa de Bernarda Alba (1936) (Munich, ...}}</ref>

⚫
* 2006: ''[[Bernarda Alba (musical)|Bernarda Alba]]'', a musical adaptation by [[Michael John LaChiusa]]. It opened at [[Mitzi Newhouse Theater]] with [[Phylicia Rashad]] as Bernarda.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/07/theater/reviews/07alba.html |title=Sex and a Monster Mother Seething in Sunny Spain |access-date=28 October 2008 |last=Brantley |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Brantley |date=7 March 2006 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] }}</ref>
Steven Dykes wrote a production named 'Homestead' for the American Theatre Arts (ATA) students in 2004 which was revived in 2013 (The Barn Theatre). The original production went on to perform at The Courtyard in Covent Garden, with members of an ATA graduate company Shady Dolls.

In August 2012, Hyderabad, India based theatre group Sutradhar staged Birjees Qadar Ka Kunba, an Urdu/Hindustani adaptation of The House of Bernarda Alba.<ref>{{cite news |last=Madhira |first=Harini |title=Curtain Call: Women steal the show |newspaper=[[The New Indian Express]] |date=30 August 2012 |url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/article597966.ece |access-date=23 July 2014}}</ref> Directed by Vinay Varma and scripted by Dr. Raghuvir Sahay, the play adapted Lorca's original to a more Indian matriarch family setup. The play boasted of a cast of more than 10 women actors with Vaishali Bisht as Birjees Qadar (Bernard Alba) and Deepti Girotra as Hasan baandi (La Poncia).<ref>{{cite news |last=Borah |first=Prabalika |title=Women on top |newspaper=[[The Hindu]] |date= 26 August 2012 |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/women-on-top/article3820903.ece |access-date=23 July 2014}}</ref>

In 2018, dramatist [[Patricia Cornelius]] adapted ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' for [[Melbourne Theatre Company]], retelling the story as a family drama set in a mining town in contemporary [[Western Australia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/mother-smothers-but-daughters-are-lost-in-mtc-house-of-bernarda-alba-20180601-p4ziwv.html |title=Mother smothers, but daughters are lost in MTC House of Bernarda Alba |first=Cameron |last=Woodhead |date=4 June 2018 |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=14 August 2019}}</ref> The adaptation was staged at the [[Arts Centre Melbourne|Fairfax Studio]], and featured Candy Bowers as Martirio (renamed "Marti"), [[Peta Brady]] as Angustias (renamed "Angela"), [[Julie Forsyth]] as Poncia (renamed "Penelope"), [[Bessie Holland]] as Magdalena (renamed "Magda"), [[Sue Jones (actress)|Sue Jones]] as Maria Josefa, Melita Jurisic as Bernarda Alba (renamed "Bernadette"), and Emily Milledge as Adela (renamed "Adele").<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.timeout.com/melbourne/theatre/the-house-of-bernarda-alba |title=The House of Bernarda Alba |first=Tim |last=Byrne |date=2 June 2018 |access-date=14 August 2019 |magazine=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://witnessperformance.com/the-silence-of-atrocity-the-house-of-bernarda-alba/ |title=The silence of atrocity: The House of Bernarda Alba |work=Witness Performance |date=6 June 2018 |access-date=14 August 2019 |first=Alison |last=Croggon}}</ref>

In 2019, Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas staged Lorca's "La Casa de Bernarda Alba" for its 44th theatre season under the direction of Alexander Cortez. 'The House of Bernarda Alba | Ang Tahanan ni Bernarda Alba' was translated by Daisy Lopez to English and translated by Alexander Cortez himself to Filipino.


==References==
==References==


{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist|2}}

==Sources==
*Lima, Robert. ''The Theatre of Garcia Lorca''. New York: Las Americas Publishing Co., 1963.
*Lima, Robert. ''The Theatre of Garcia Lorca''. New York: Las Americas Publishing Co., 1963.


Latest revision as of 10:46, 25 October 2024

For the film adaptations, see The House of Bernarda Alba (disambiguation).
The House of Bernarda Alba
Written byFederico García Lorca
CharactersBernarda Alba (60)
María Josefa (80s)
Angustias (39)
Magdalena (30)
Amelia (27)
Martirio (24)
Adela (20)
Maid (50)
Poncia (60)
Criada (50)
Prudencia (50)
Beggar woman
Little girl
Women mourners
First woman
Second woman
Third woman
Fourth woman
Girl
Date premiered8 March 1945
Place premieredAvenida Theatre
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Original languageSpanish
GenreDrama

The House of Bernarda Alba (Spanish: La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with Blood Wedding and Yerma as the Rural Trilogy. Garcia Lorca did not include it in his plan for a "trilogy of the Spanish land" (which remained unfinished at the time of his murder).[1]

Garcia Lorca described the play in its subtitle as a drama of women in the villages of Spain. The House of Bernarda Alba was Garcia Lorca's last play, completed on 19 June 1936, two months before his assassination during the Spanish Civil War. The play was first performed on 8 March 1945 at the Avenida Theatre in Buenos Aires.[2][3] The play centers on the events of a house in Andalusia during a period of mourning, in which Bernarda Alba (aged 60) wields total control over her five daughters Angustias (39 years old), Magdalena (30), Amelia (27), Martirio (24), and Adela (20). The housekeeper (Poncia) and Bernarda's elderly mother (María Josefa) also live there.

The deliberate exclusion of any male character from the action helps build up the high level of sexual tension that is present throughout the play. Pepe "el Romano", the love interest of Bernarda's daughters and suitor of Angustias, never appears on stage. The play explores themes of repression, passion, and conformity, and inspects the effects of men upon women.

Plot summary

[edit]

Upon her second husband's death, domineering matriarch Bernarda Alba imposes an eight-year mourning period on her household in accordance with her family tradition. Bernarda has five daughters, aged between 20 and 39, whom she has rigidly controlled and prohibited from any form of relationship. The mourning period further isolates them and tension mounts within the household.

After a mourning ritual at the family home, eldest daughter Angustias enters, having been absent while the guests were there. Bernarda fumes, assuming she had been listening to the men's conversation on the patio. Angustias inherited a large sum of money from Bernarda's first husband, while Bernarda's second husband has left only small sums to his four daughters. Angustias' wealth attracts a young, attractive suitor from the village, Pepe el Romano. Her sisters are jealous, believing it unfair that plain, sickly Angustias should receive both the majority of the inheritance and the freedom to marry and escape their suffocating home.

Minerva Mena in La casa de Bernarda Alba

Youngest sister Adela, stricken with sudden spirit and jubilation after her father's funeral, defies her mother's orders and dons a green dress instead of remaining in mourning black. Her brief taste of youthful joy shatters when she discovers that Angustias will be marrying Pepe. Poncia, Bernarda's maid, advises Adela to bide her time: Angustias will probably die delivering her first child. Distressed, Adela threatens to run into the streets in her green dress, but her sisters manage to stop her. Suddenly they see Pepe coming down the street. Adela stays behind while her sisters rush to get a look, until a maid hints that she could get a better look from her bedroom window.

As Poncia and Bernarda discuss the daughters' inheritances upstairs, Bernarda sees Angustias wearing makeup. Appalled that Angustias would defy her orders to remain in a state of mourning, Bernarda violently scrubs the makeup off her face. The other daughters enter, followed by Bernarda's elderly mother, Maria Josefa, who is usually locked away in her room. Maria Josefa announces that she wants to get married; she also warns Bernarda that she'll turn her daughters' hearts to dust if they cannot be free. Bernarda forces her back into her room.

It is revealed that Adela and Pepe are having a secret affair. Adela becomes increasingly volatile, defying her mother and quarreling with her sisters, particularly Martirio, who reveals her own feelings for Pepe. Adela shows the most horror when the family hears the latest gossip about how the townspeople recently tortured a young woman who had delivered and killed an illegitimate baby.

Tension explodes as family members confront one another, leading to Bernarda pursuing Pepe with a gun. A gunshot is heard outside the home. Martirio and Bernarda return and imply that Pepe has been killed. Adela flees into another room. With Adela out of earshot, Martirio tells everyone else that Pepe actually fled on his pony. Bernarda remarks that as a woman she can't be blamed for poor aim. A loud noise is heard; Bernarda immediately calls for Adela, who has locked herself into a room. When she doesn't respond, Bernarda and Poncia force the door open. Poncia's shriek is heard. She returns with her hands clasped around her neck and warns the family not to enter the room. Adela, not knowing that Pepe survived, has hanged herself.

The House of Bernarda Alba by the senior generation of Hamazkayin "Arek" Theatre.[4]

The closing lines of the play show Bernarda characteristically preoccupied with the family's reputation, not registering that Adela and Pepe had an affair due to her moral code. She insists that Adela has died a virgin and demands that this be made known to the whole town. Bernarda forbids her daughters to cry.

Adaptations

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Stage adaptations include:

Film and television

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Film and television adaptations include:

Other

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Other adaptations include:

References

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  1. ^ Maurer, Christopher. (1992). Introduction. Three Plays. By Federico García Lorca. Trans. Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata. London: Penguin. p. ix ISBN 0-14-018383-3.
  2. ^ Styan, J. L. (1981). Modern Drama in Theory and Practice: Volume 2, Symbolism, Surrealism and the Absurd. Cambridge University Press. p. 90. ISBN 052123-0683.
  3. ^ Londré, Felicia Hardison (1984). Federico García Lorca. Frederick Ungar Publishing Company. pp. 33. ISBN 080442540X.
  4. ^ ""The House of Bernarda Alba" Performed (Lebanon)". 22 February 2016.
  5. ^ Gardner, Lyn (2009-04-29). "The House of Bernarda Alba". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  6. ^ गोयल, डॉ आरती 'लोकेश'. रघुवीर सहाय के गद्य में सामाजिक चेतना: Raghuvir Sahay ke Gadya mein Samajik Chetna (in Hindi). Notionpress.
  7. ^ Jay, Cleo (2013). "Acting up: performance and the politics of womanhood in contemporary Morocco". Journal of African Cultural Studies. 25 (3): 305–318. doi:10.1080/13696815.2013.819777. ISSN 1369-6815. JSTOR 42005330.
  8. ^ Kellaway, Kate (2012-01-29). "The House of Bernarda Alba – review". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  9. ^ Woodhead, Cameron (4 June 2018). "Mother smothers, but daughters are lost in MTC House of Bernarda Alba". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  10. ^ Byrne, Tim (2 June 2018). "The House of Bernarda Alba". Time Out. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  11. ^ Croggon, Alison (6 June 2018). "The silence of atrocity: The House of Bernarda Alba". Witness Performance. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  12. ^ "The House of Bernarda Alba | National Theatre". www.nationaltheatre.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  13. ^ "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 1976-07-28. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  14. ^ Smith, Paul Julian (1996). Vision Machines: Cinema, Literature, and Sexuality in Spain and Cuba, 1983–1993. Verso. p. 20. ISBN 1-85984-079-5. JSTOR 24487859.
  15. ^ O'Connor, John J. (1991-12-18). "Review/Television; A Tyrannical Widow And Her 5 Daughters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-17.
  16. ^ Hood, John W. (2000). The Essential Mystery: The Major Filmmakers of Indian Art Cinema. Orient Longman. pp. 459. ISBN 81-250-1870-0.
  17. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (16 February 1981). "Dance: Pomare's "Las Desenamoradas"". The New York Times. p. 17. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  18. ^ Latham, Alison (2004). "Bernarda Albas Haus ('The House of Bernarda Alba')". The Oxford Dictionary of Musical Works. Oxford University Press. p. 17. ISBN 0198610203. Opera in three acts by Aribert Reimann to a libretto by the composer after Enrique Beck's German translation of Federico Garcıa Lorca's play La casa de Bernarda Alba (1936) (Munich, ...
  19. ^ Brantley, Ben (7 March 2006). "Sex and a Monster Mother Seething in Sunny Spain". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 October 2008.

Sources

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  • Lima, Robert. The Theatre of Garcia Lorca. New York: Las Americas Publishing Co., 1963.
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