Basque flavour. It is aspires to turn local elements - Basque customs, folklore and traditional values - into a great musical show.
This lyric comedy in three acts, with music by the Basque composer and organist Jesús Guridi to a libretto by Guillermo Fernández-Shaw and Federico Romero, was premiered in the Zarzuela Theatre in Madrid on 11 November 1926. It was another attempt at creating an opera with a Basque atmosphere and orchestration.
Therefore, its customs character goes together with its musical nationalism, especially regarding the treatment of Basque folklore - the second of the three acts includes a wide range of traditional Basque dances and music.
Guridi's superb orchestration, in which the serene lyricism of some of its romances and songs stands out, is the setting for this story about love affairs that takes place in a family farmhouse ("caserío"), which is what gives the zarzuela its name. It is conceived as a central symbol of life and traditional and family values of Basque people.
