An exciting new concert bringing music from Spain will soon be touring Oxfordshire, discovers Nicola Lisle

If you’re looking for an escape from dark, chilly January days, then an injection of Spanish music and glamour should prove the perfect tonic.

Margarita and the House of Love, which opens in Oxford next week, is the tale of a mysterious boarding house in Seville, where the lodgers have their different memories of love, both requited and unrequited.

The story is brought to life with music by the likes of Granados, de Falla, Rodrigo, Lorca and other Spanish composers, performed by mezzo-soprano Nicola Harrison and the ensemble Casa Margarita.

“It’s a story concert, about an old house in Seville and characters who have lived there for some time,” explains Nicola, who also wrote the script. “So the house represents time. But there are also rooms in the house that represent different things. “There’s a narrator who introduces the different characters and puts it all in context. He is a kind of Master of Ceremonies, because he’s got the overview, and it’s all about different aspects of love. And it’s all very Spanish, very authentic.”

When it comes to authenticity, Nicola knows what she is talking about. She has specialised in Spanish song for 15 years, and spent two years training in Seville, Jerez and Madrid. During that time she impressed the legendary Spanish mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza, who agreed to become Casa Margarita’s patron.

The show allows Nicola to champion the Spanish song repertoire, which she feels has been unjustly neglected.

“Singers keep away from it because it’s so difficult, expressively as well as musically and linguistically,” she says. “To me, it’s the most classical music out there, because it combines the beauty and simplicity of folk with the very interesting art song elements that are particularly Spanish and very exciting.”

Margarita and the House of Love evolved from the music, with the script being fitted around it. “I took the stories from the core of what the songs present. It really engages the audience’s imagination. It’s an experience for people, rather than just sitting listening to music.”

Nicola believes many people will identify with the stories of Margarita. “Everybody brings their own experi-ence to the story. The teenage girl who can’t get her lover’s attention bangs her tambourine, and you see the audi-ence smiling because they remember that feeling of the boy that you liked in the class who didn’t like you. All kinds of love are represented in the tale.”

But while the stories are important, it is the music that really makes this a vivid and exciting experience.

“We rearranged the music, which was for piano and voice, with lively percussion. So there’s lots of improved percussion and virtuosic castanet playing. “It works on all levels of interest. You’ve got wonderful music, with fantastic musicians, but it’s the engagement of the audience that’s important. We have audiences who know nothing about classical music, and who are absolutely engaged.

“It goes straight to the house in Seville and everyone’s sitting there in the courtyard, so you’re physically transported as well.

“It is a beautiful evening of light-hearted and fabulous music. It really is exciting, and very, very different.”

Margarita and the House of Love
St Margaret’s Church, Oxford
Wednesday, 7.30pm
Tickets: 01865 305305 or www.ticketsoxford.com
For other dates/venues, visit www.casa-margarita.co.uk