Lorca’s Rural Trilogy: Blood Wedding, Yerma & The House of Bernarda Alba

by Federico García Lorca, Andrea Riseborough (Narrator), Sarah Smart (Narrator)

Three of Federico García Lorca's best-known plays, as heard on BBC Radio 3

Poet and playwright Federico García Lorca is one of the most famous figures in 20th-century Spanish literature. A member of the 'Generation of '27' avant-garde movement that included Dalí and Buñuel, he became well known for his lyrical, symbolic works mixing modernism and the folkloric traditions of his native Andalusia. He was executed by Nationalist forces at the start of the Spanish Civil War, aged only 38. Over 80 years later, his poetry is revered worldwide, and the plays in his 'Rural Trilogy' are widely regarded as masterpieces.

Blood Wedding —Based on the true story of a tragic feud between two families in rural Almeria, Lorca's atmospheric meditation on fate, war, tradition, passion and repression is adapted for radio by former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. The winner of the 2008 Sony Award for Best Drama, it stars Barbara Flynn, Carl Prekopp, Sarah Smart and Andrea Riseborough.

Yerma —Infused with poetic imagery and song, this evocative drama tells the tragic tale of a woman's desperate desire for a child. Her maternal yearnings escalate to the point of obsession, ultimately driving her to commit a terrible crime... Emma Cuniffe stars as Yerma, with a full cast including Conrad Nelson, Declan Wilson, Rebecca Callard and Annette Badland.

The House of Bernarda Alba —Written in 1936 and completed just a few months before his assassination, Lorca's final play explores the familial passions and tensions that arise following the death of Bernarda Alba's second husband. After the funeral, the tyrannical matriarch imposes an eight-year period of mourning on her daughters—but the ensuing power struggle will have tragic consequences. Starring Siân Thomas, Brigit Forsyth and Elaine Cassidy.

First published 1932 (Blood Wedding), 1934 (Yerma), 1936 (The House of Bernarda Alba)

Cast and credits

Written by Federico Garcia Lorca

Produced and directed by Pauline Harris

Blood Wedding

Mother of Bridegroom—Barbara Flynn

Bridegroom/Woodcutter—Carl Prekopp

Bride—Sarah Smart

Leonardo—William Ash

Leonardo's Wife/Girl—Andrea Riseborough

Father of Bride—David Fleeshman

Beggar Woman/Neighbour—Mary Cunningham

Servant/Mother-in-Law—Ellie Haddington

Moon—Claire Benedict

Girl—Liz Carter

Woodcutters—Sam Curtis & Chris Hannon

Little Girl—Daisy Jones

Adapted by Ted Hughes

Music composed by Matthew Wood

First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 25 November 2007

Yerma

Yerma—Emma Cunniffe

Juan—Conrad Nelson

Victor—Declan Wilson

Maria—Rebecca Callard

Pagan Old Woman—Annette Badland

Dolores—Claire Benedict

Dolores' Neighbour—Kate Layden

Washerwomen—Deborah McAndrew & Fionnuala Dorrity

Washerwoman/Girl 1—Liz Carter

Washerwoman/Female at the Pilgrimage—Helen Longworth

Male at the Pilgrimage—Kevin Harvey

Spanish Voice—Anna Castineiras

Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata

Music composed by Tayo Akinbode

Tayo Akinbode, Richard Arthurs and Chris Cruiks

Members of the cast and Leslie Pratt

First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 26 Sep 2010

The House of Bernarda Alba

Bernarda Alba—Sian Thomas

La Poncia—Brigit Forsyth

Maria Josefa—Pauline Jefferson

Angustias—Kate Coogan

Magdalena—Victoria Brazier

Martirio—Christine Bottomley

Adela—Elaine Cassidy

Prudencia—Christine Cox

Girl—Daisy Jones

Adapted by Pauline Harris

Translation by Michael Dewell and Carmen Zapata

Musical direction and original music composition by Conrad Nelson

Male chorus Les Pratt, Martin Medina, Nathan Jenkins, Andrew Johnston, David Cane, Peter Edge and George Leeming

First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 2 March 2014

Audible Audio

Published January 27, 2022

About the author

Born in Fuente Vaqueros, Granada, Spain, June 5 1898; died near Granada, August 19 1936, García Lorca is one of Spain's most deeply appreciated and highly revered poets and dramatists. His murder by the Nationalists at the start of the Spanish civil war brought sudden international fame, accompanied by an excess of political rhetoric which led a later generation to question his merits; after the inevitable slump, his reputation has recovered (largely with a shift in interest to the less obvious works). He must now be bracketed with Machado as one of the two greatest poets Spain has produced in the 20th century, and he is certainly Spain's greatest dramatist since the Golden Age.