Osvaldo Golijov’s “Ainadamar,” with a libretto by David Henry Hwang, is not so much an opera as a ritual of remembrance — a fevered lament for Federico García Lorca, the poet and playwright executed by fascist forces in the early days of the Spanish Civil War. Drawing its name from the Arabic for “fountain of tears,” the work traces Lorca’s fate through the memory-scape of actress Margarita Xirgu, his muse and the star of his play Mariana Pineda. As Xirgu prepares for one final performance in exile, her recollections collapse time, weaving past and present into an emotional reckoning.

Visually, the production is anchored by Jon Bausor’s breathtaking curtain of beads — a vertical shimmer onto which Tal Rosner’s projections dance: Andalusian bulls, revolutionary slogans, fragments of Lorca’s verse. Paul Keogan’s lighting casts an otherworldly pallor over it all, evoking the liminal terrain of memory and martyrdom.

‘Pulses with political rage and aching lyricism, a testament to art’s enduring defiance.”

Mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack is magnetic as Lorca, her smoky lower register and androgynous bearing infusing the role with poetic gravitas. As Xirgu, Ana María Martínez delivers a performance of vocal brilliance and dramatic depth, seamlessly navigating her character’s transformation from youthful idealist to haunted exile. Vanessa Becerra’s warm-toned Nuria, Xirgu’s student, serves as a conduit between generations, while flamenco cantaor Alfredo Tejada gives chilling embodiment to Lorca’s executioner — his fierce, guttural delivery underscoring the fascist terror.

Golijov’s genre-defying score is an alchemy of flamenco, classical, and electronic elements — urgent, incantatory, and never predictable. Ainadamar pulses with political rage and aching lyricism, a testament to art’s enduring defiance. This production affirms why it remains a contemporary classic: not just a portrait of a lost poet, but a searing reminder of what it means to resist erasure through beauty.

— G. Dhalla

“Ainadamar” plays through May 18th at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. More info at https://laopera.org/