On Radio Clasica de Espagna tonight:
SPECIAL PROGRAM: Temporada del Teatro de la Zarzuela
Concierto celebrado en Madrid el 3 de febrero de 2019.
GAZTAMBIDE: El sueño de una noche de verano. (Reina Isabel): María REY-JOLY, (Fálstaf): Valeriano LANCHAS, (Olivia): Sandra FERRÁNDEZ, (Shakespeare): Santiago BALLERINI, (Arturo Latimer) Toni MARSOL, (Tobías): Pablo LÓPEZ, Con: Sandro Cordero, Jorge Merino, Ana Goya, Pablo Vázquez y Miguel Ángel Blanco, Coro del Teatro de la Zarzuela, Orq: de la Comunidad de Madrid (Titular del Teatro de la Zarzuela). Dir.: Miguel Ángel Gómez-Martínez. (3 hrs.)
This zarzuela was composed in 1852 and is based on A Midsummer Night's Dream.
'El sueno de una noche de verano' means 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', of course.
Of course it does, Alan. But I don't recall either Falstaff or Shakespeare being characters in the play.
Ambroise Thomas' opera " Le songe d'une nuit d'ete" ( excuse the lack of accents) also features Shakespeare as one of the characters and is likewise based on the play of the same name.
It rarely happens, but I was wrong! Neither the plot nor the characters in either operas are based on Shakespeare's play... only the title.
The Gatzambide version is supposed to be very "Italianate" in style influenced more by Rossini & Donizetti, like the operas of Carnicer his teacher.
I was just clearing up the translation of the Spanish - nothing more.
The video is already available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsjBueP1uyE