FITOS DEZSŐ ENSEMBLE

Fitos Dezső Ensemble: Bernarda Ballad

A performance about women — not just for women!

 

The tension between confinement, a life bound by rules, and the longing for freedom and fulfillment is the fundamental theme of Lorca’s last, masterfully crafted drama. The work highlights the limitations placed on female identity and the physical, emotional, and spiritual freedom of women within a patriarchal society. The questions raised by the story remain relevant today.

 

Federico García Lorca was born at the end of the 19th century in the Andalusian village of Fuente Vaqueros. His deep affinity for folk music and poetry is evident in both his lyrical and dramatic works. His plays often focus on themes from folk songs and ballads — love, desire, hatred, loss — as well as on traditions inherited from feudal times that shaped rural Spanish life and the tragic fates caused by them. The House of Bernarda Alba is perhaps the most significant among these.

 

After the death of Bernarda Alba’s second husband, her daughters face eight years of mourning during which strict rules apply, and total isolation from the outside world. These constraints tangibly tighten the suffocating system of social expectations and rigid moral norms around them. The gap between the desires and needs of these now fatherless women and the harsh, restrictive daily reality filled with prohibitions is insurmountable.

 

Each woman tries to live and survive in this environment according to her age and character — some break, some resign, some secretly or openly rebel against the unbearable rules. Yet the unresolved tension grows, and the shiny surface forged from discipline and obedience begins to crack — a tragic ending becomes inevitable.