Draft:Mar i Cel (musical)

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Mar i Cel
Music	Albert Guinovart
Book	Xavier Bru de Sala
Setting	17th century Mediterranean Sea
Premiere	1988 (1988): Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, Barcelona

Mar i Cel is a Catalan-language musical based on the namesake play by Àngel Guimerà. It was first premiered by Dagoll Dagom in 1988, and has been revived by the company in 2004 at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, and in 2014 and 2024 at the Teatre Victòria, where it originally debuted. The 2024 revival marked Dagoll Dagom's farewell to the stage, coinciding with the company’s 50th anniversary.

The play stands out for its spectacular stage design, featuring a massive, movable ship that dominates most scenes, and for its music—several songs have become part of the popular musical repertoire. The libretto, adapted from Guimerà’s original text, was written by Xavier Bru de Sala, while the music was composed by Albert Guinovart. The set and costume design were created by Isidre Prunés and Montse Amenós.

Plot

Madrid, 1609: King Philip III, with the approval of the Viceroy of Valencia and Archbishop Riera, orders the expulsion of the Moriscos, despite opposition from the Duke of Lerma.

Twenty years later, a Morisco pirate ship, led by Captain Saïd, sails the Mediterranean. In a recent attack on a Christian vessel, they capture the Viceroy of Valencia and his family, intending to demand a ransom for their release.

Unlike typical pirates, Saïd treats the prisoners less harshly, protecting them from mistreatment. This behavior causes Blanca, the Viceroy’s daughter, to develop feelings for him, despite her internal struggle, given that she is Christian and he is Muslim. When Blanca’s father learns of this, he opposes the relationship. At the same time, the pirate crew begins to question Saïd’s leadership, planning a mutiny due to his love for a Christian woman. Joanot, a renegade Christian turned pirate, persuades the Viceroy to sign a contract promising him a noble title in exchange for freeing the captives and taking control of the ship.

The Christians seize the ship’s weapons and ambush the pirates, killing them one by one. The following morning, the Viceroy orders Saïd to be hanged, but Blanca threatens to take her own life if he does. Saïd is tied up and left alone with Blanca for a final farewell. Ferran, Blanca’s fiancé, promises that if she returns to him and forgets everything, he will let Saïd escape in a boat to the Algerian coast visible on the horizon.

The Viceroy interrupts their farewell and, seeing his daughter in Saïd’s arms, shoots him. Keeping her promise, Blanca stabs herself and dies in Saïd’s arms. The lovers’ bodies are thrown into the sea, where they reunite with those who died throughout the play.

Development

Regarding structure, Guimerà’s original play consists of three acts divided into several scenes, while the musical has two acts, supplemented by a prologue set in Madrid twenty years earlier and an epilogue after the protagonists' death, in which all the deceased characters reappear. These additional parts (prologue and epilogue) are absent from the original play. Additionally, two key scenes differ significantly from the original. Saïd’s monologue about his childhood is dramatized in the musical, using a time and space shift that brings together characters from both the past and present. Another added scene is Blanca’s dream at the market, which only appears in the musical.

The characters also undergo several changes. In Guimerà’s original play, Blanca is the sole female character on the pirate ship, while in the musical, six female characters are introduced: Blanca, her sister Maria, three noblewomen, and a woman dressed as a nun. The cabin boy Idriss, who adds humor and charm, is an original character in the musical. Conversely, the comedic scene between Guillem (a soldier) and Roc (a sailor) from Guimerà’s version is omitted.

Some principal characters have revised personalities or motivations to suit modern audiences. Blanca, for instance, is transformed from a convent-bound soul discovering the world through Saïd into Ferran’s fiancée, engaged for convenience rather than love. Ferran, originally Blanca’s cousin secretly in love with her, becomes a conventional fiancé. The most radical change is in Joanot, who, in Guimerà’s play, is a repentant Christian seeking redemption but becomes a cynical and selfish traitor in the musical.

There are several plot twists that diverge between the two versions, with the most significant being the ending. In the original, Carles shoots Saïd, but Blanca intervenes, and the shot hits her instead. Saïd then takes her in his arms and jumps into the sea, leading to their deaths together. In the musical, Carles’ shot hits Saïd directly, prompting Blanca to fulfill her threat by stabbing herself. The two lovers’ bodies are thrown into the sea afterward. While both endings portray the consequences of intolerance, the musical version is harsher, as Carles knowingly causes his daughter’s death by giving in to hatred despite her warning.

Another key difference is how Saïd and Blanca first grow closer. In Guimerà’s play, Saïd is wounded at the beginning and requires Blanca’s help to tend to his injuries. In this context of fragile trust, Blanca unsuccessfully attempts to kill Saïd to alleviate her guilt for falling for an infidel. In the musical, Blanca is the one injured during an attempted assault by the pirates, and Saïd protects her. Three scenes from the original are omitted in the musical: Saïd’s jealousy when he suspects Ferran and Blanca are together, Blanca guarding Saïd’s cabin, and Joanot’s offer to sacrifice himself for Saïd.

Staging

The staging is one of the most notable differences from the play on which the show is based. The standout feature is the large, movable ship, which moves on and offstage, sways with the waves, and turns as needed. Most action takes place on the deck and masts, with minimalistic set design and lighting effects used to depict the ship’s hold. Additional changes of scenery break the unity of time and space: the Madrid court twenty years earlier (in the prologue), Saïd’s childhood in Valencia during the Morisco expulsion, and Blanca’s dream at the market. In contrast, Guimerà’s original play maintains a strict unity of space, with the action taking place in the same cabin throughout the three acts.

The 2014 version of the musical included visual effects with image projections to depict the sky above the ship and the court’s interiors. Many scenes feature acrobatics and gymnastic demonstrations.

Performances

1988 premiere

Premiered on October 7, 1988, at the Teatre Victòria in Barcelona. It toured Spain and returned to Barcelona in 1991, again at the Teatre Victòria.

2004 revival

In 2004, to celebrate its 30th anniversary, Dagoll Dagom revived the iconic musical Mar i Cel with updated staging and new musical arrangements. The revival premiered on October 21, 2004, at the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC) and later moved to the Teatre Victòria, running until January 8, 2006. Notable cast members included Elena Gadel (Blanca) and Carlos Gramaje (Saïd).

Internationalization

In 2006, Mar i Cel was performed in Madrid in Spanish and in 2007 in Halle in German. During the late 1980s, it was occasionally staged in Zaragoza and Bilbao.

2014 revival

Dagoll Dagom confirmed plans for another revival in 2014 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its founding. The musical premiered for the third time on September 25, 2014, at the Teatre Victòria in Barcelona and ran for two seasons, closing on January 10, 2016.

2024 revival

For its 50th anniversary, Dagoll Dagom announced its farewell to the stage with a fourth and final revival of Mar i Cel. The production premiered on September 19, 2024, at the Teatre Victòria. Before the premiere, over 150,000 tickets had been sold in advance.

Songs

Prologue – Madrid, 1609

• "The Court" – Philip III, Margaret of Austria, the Duke of Lerma, the Patriarch of Antioch, Don Carlos, and the Baron of Denia

Act I – Twenty Years Later

• "La Ilaha Il·la Lah" – Saïd and the Pirates
• "Cançó d'Osman" – Osman
• "Aigua, per pietat" – Blanca, Don Carlos, Ferran, Maria, Christian Women
• "Interrogatori dels cristians" – Saïd, Blanca, Don Carlos, Ferran, Idriss, Pirates, Christians
• "Festa dels pirates" – Pirates
• "Cançó de Joanot" – Joanot
• "Mateu-me d'un cop" – Blanca, Saïd, Hassèn, Idriss
• "L'expulsió / Ària de la mare" – Saïd, Young Saïd, Saïd’s Mother, Moorish Women, Soldiers
• "Per què he plorat?" – Blanca and Saïd
• "Raons d'estat" – Blanca, Don Carlos, Ferran, and Maria
• "Les pomes" – Idriss and Maria
• "El motí" – Saïd, Malek, Hassèn, Pirates
• "Himne dels pirates" – Pirates

Act II

• "El Zoco"
• "No estàs sola" – Blanca and Saïd
• "Complot dels cristians" – Joanot, Don Carlos, Ferran
• "Cançó de Hassen" – Hassen
• "Mort dels pirates"
• "Cançó d'Idriss" – Idriss
• "Lloem a Déu" – Don Carlos, Saïd, Joanot
• "Pare meu estimat" – Blanca, Don Carlos, Joanot
• "Sempre t'hem comprès / Cançó de Ferran" – Maria, Blanca, Christian Women / Ferran, Saïd
• "Comiat" – Saïd, Blanca, Ferran
• "Cor Final" – Company

Legacy

Mar i Cel definitively established Dagoll Dagom’s commitment to musical theater, with an ambitious production not only in terms of its set design but also regarding its responsibilities in authorship and adaptation. This work can also be considered the one that elevated the musical genre within the framework of contemporary Catalan theater.

According to the company’s data, the show has performed over 1,500 times and gathered more than 1.2 million spectators between its premiere in 1988 and its last production in 2024.

References

This page will be placed in the following categories if it is moved to the article namespace.

Categories:

• 1988 musicals
• Catalan-language works
• Musicals based on plays
• Musicals set in the 17th century
• Musicals set on ships
• Fiction about piracy
• Plays set in the 1600s
• Spanish musicals
• Theatre in Catalonia