María de Buenos Aires is a tango operita (little opera) composed by Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) with a libretto by poet Horacio Ferrer. Premiering in 1968, the piece is one of Piazzolla’s most ambitious and innovative works, blending tango, classical music, and surrealist poetry. It represents a major departure from traditional tango, showcasing Piazzolla’s distinctive nuevo tango style – complex, dramatic, and infused with elements of jazz and avant-garde music.

The operita tells the symbolic and enigmatic story of María, a woman born “one day when God was drunk” in the slums of Buenos Aires. She becomes a tango singer and a symbol of sensuality and suffering. After her death, María’s shadow wanders through the underworld of the city, encountering surreal characters such as the Duende (a goblin-like narrator) and a chorus of psychoanalysts, construction workers, and thieves. The narrative is abstract, filled with metaphors and mystical elements, portraying María both as a real woman and an allegory for Buenos Aires itself, particularly its tango culture.

Musically, María de Buenos Aires is richly textured, featuring bandoneon (a type of concertina essential in tango music), piano, violin, and voice. Piazzolla’s score breaks traditional tango rhythms and harmonies, pushing the genre into new emotional and intellectual territory.

The work is often interpreted as a meditation on identity, femininity, urban life, and rebirth. Despite its initial mixed reception, it has gained recognition as a groundbreaking piece in 20th-century music and a key work in Piazzolla’s oeuvre. María de Buenos Aires remains a vivid, haunting exploration of the soul of Buenos Aires, where tango is not just a dance or music form, but a poetic expression of passion, loss, and resilience.

Performed by Ce Suarez Paz (soprano, María), Cesare Chiacchiaretta (bandoneon), soloists and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Calabria, conducted by Filippo Arlia.