El año pasado por agua (Chueca & Valverde)

Ana María Iriarte, Gerardo Monreal, Carlos S. Luque. Coro Cantores de Madrid y Orquesta Sinfónica, c. Indalecio Cisneros
Columbia BS 7186 [cassette tape only]

Chueca's brilliant, satirical revista was written after the wettest year on record in the capital, when for once water was not in short supply. Currently it is in short supply itself, though copies of the Columbia tape version of the Alhambra LP are still to be found in Madrid stores. The performance is a delight, with Iriarte at her blowsy best and Monreal giving stirling comedy support in the delicious Mazurka de los paraguas. Luque's name is not mentioned in the inadequate documentation, but his lacrymose Inquisitor deserves a positive mention. This is a gem of the repertoire, and the sooner it is transferred to official CD the better. The coupling is the complete El pobre valbuena.

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