“Maria de Buenos Aires is a two-part operita (tango opera), composed of lyrical poems and instrumental music orchestrated according to a dramatic sequence that recreates the simmered-down essence of Buenos Aires, portrayed through Maria, the symbolic female protagonist, who experiences the urban street culture and dangers of the Buenos Aires underworld.” (description by Astor Piazzolla in 1968).
Technically, Maria is closer to a play than an opera, where musical cohesion and stage performance are concerned. The establishment of tango opera as an Argentine category did not really grow or catch on as a genre beyond this work. Therefore it is best to situate this masterpiece in the domain of what Piazzolla produced with his music: an aesthetic created by the intersection between the score and the raw pulse of tango, between the classical and the popular.
Musically, Maria is a twist on the concept and sound of Piazzolla. Following the Octeto Buenos Aires and the structural changes of the Quinteto, we find greater instrumental diversity in Maria de Buenos Aires. Horacio Ferrer introduces to us a substantial variation in theme: Unlike the women historically related by tango, Maria has her own voice; a sadness and grief that propels her, and she breathes life into the role and identity of women in tango, bringing them to the forefront.
The decisive feature of this tango opera, however, is another: the union of the lyrics with the music, which has always seemed complicated, with ridges between one and the other’s “syntax”. It has been said that Ferrer did with his poetry what Astor did with his music, and it is relatively true. Considering how unique and one-of-a-kind these two creative entities are, it made one wonder how they would make a docile fit. The poetry of Ferrer, infused with urban mythology and esoteric slang, freed Piazzolla from having to comply with traditional rhymes and verse structures, and for this very reason Piazzolla accomplished the effect of unity and harmony with Ferrer’s extensive and complex lyrics. Maria de Buenos Aires is the achievement of an unusual balance in the world of musical drama.