This live recording from an accomplished BBC Symphony Orchestra under conductor Josep Pons reveals the opera to be really a work of two parts…The cast acquit themselves well, if not with persuasively fandango passion. Granados’s thick scoring sometimes clogs the action but, nonetheless, it’s in the sweeping orchestral interludes that he shines brightest here.

This performance…is excellent in every respect. José Antonio López oozes braggadocio as the majo Paquiro…Fabiola Herrera sounds neither as youthful nor ingenuous as María Bayo…but her creamy tone suggests regal bearing and her entreaties in the love duet convey considerable ardour…The tight vibrato in Gustavo Pena’s upper register gives his voice an attractive glint and he phrases intelligently, playing effectively with light and shade…Pons wrings a fair amount of drama from the score.

Recordings of Granados’s 1916 one-act opera are pretty thin on the ground, and Pons and his Hispanophone cast make a terrific case for it here: the flamenco-infused interludes crackle with dangerous energy, and Nancy Fabiola Herrara is magnificent as the heroine Rosario, particularly in the Act Three ‘nightingale’ aria which takes her into dramatic soprano territory.

The story of rivalry and vengeance set to a background of rough-edged colour provides a framework for deftly orchestrated music of passion, and Pons energises his forces with electrifying power.

It’s the abundant choral writing and the colourful scoring that are the opera’s real attractions. Both come across vividly in Josep Pons’s energetic performance, and the BBC Singers and Symphony Orchestra are outstanding. Among the quartet of soloists, the soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera is very much the centre of attention as the aristocratic Rosario.

Goyescas is a rather lovely piece, highlighting the chorus and orchestra, with a luscious palette of effects: Josep Pons conducts this live recording, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers excel themselves in creating Granados’ luxuriant sound- world. Of the soloists, Nancy Fabiola Herrera stands out for her languorous contribution to the long duet in the third scene.