La Casa de la Muñeca (The Doll’s House), inspired by the classic Scandinavian play A Doll’s House, premiered on April 1-2, 2017 at Lincoln Road’s Colony Theater in Miami Beach, Florida, with a cast of nine dancers and two musicians.

Originally a three-act prose play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, La Casa de La Muñeca was conceived and created by Ballet Flamenco La Rosa’s renowned artistic director Ilisa Rosal, with distinguished guest dancers from Spain Irene “La Sentio”, Oscar De Los Reyes and Eloy Aguilar. Flamenco singer Alicia Morales and guitarist Israel Heredia composed and performed the live music that created the canvas to paint the characters, conflicts and drama of this magnificent work.

 

The central figure of this timeless story is Nora, a young woman pampered and controlled by her father, and then by her husband, Torvald, who thinks of her as childlike, calling her his little songbird and his doll. Nora has forged her father’s signature in order to borrow a large sum of money so that her husband can recuperate from a serious illness. Krogstad, the person from whom Nora has borrowed the money, is relieved of his position at the bank by Torvald, for having been disgraced for committing a similar crime himself in the past. Krogstad threatens to reveal Nora’s crime and thus disgrace her and her husband, unless Nora can convince her husband not to fire him. When Torvald discovers that Nora forged her father’s name, he is ready to disclaim his wife, even though she did it to save his life. This makes her question all of her beliefs, including whether her husband is worthy of her love. She is pushed to an extreme act of desperation.

 

“This passionate and dramatic work lends itself well to the breathtaking power of Flamenco”, says Ilisa Rosal, “With its magnificent vocals and guitar melodies, electrifying footwork, spellbinding athleticism and elegant grace, Flamenco is a compelling way to tell this story of love, loyalty, duty, desperation, betrayal, revenge, jealousy, family, friendship, honor, suffering and loss. As an artist, I have always been drawn to strong and beautifully written characters in literature and theatre, seeking opportunities to explore the emotion and psychology of our human condition. The four central characters of this play are complex and captivating, giving us powerful images of how society can impact the individual, and providing great potential for creativity in music and dance. Considering recent political issues, the work is as relevant today as it was at the time of its premiere in 1879, when it created great controversy because it challenged the accepted norms of the day and exhorted the audience to reassess the values of society and accept social responsibility.”