Payadora, Toronto’s tango ensemble, will be premiering The Legend of Carau, a new album based on the Argentinian folk tale, in a concert on June 13. The CBC’s Tom Allen, who’s written a sequel to the traditional story it’s based on, will narrate.
Along with music performance by Payadora — Rebekah Wolkstein (violin, vocals), Drew Jurecka (bandoneon, violin, mandolin), Joseph Phillips (double bass, guitar) Mark Camilleri (piano) and Elbio Fernandez (vocals) — and storytelling, dance videos filmed by Canada’s PointeTango Dance Company and a folkloric dance troupe from Argentina round out the multimedia project.
The album and live performance will debut, but The Legend of Carau is also a book and an online project you can find here.
LvT spoke to Payadora’s Rebekah Wolkstein, and Tom Allen, about the concert.
Rebekah Wolkstein & Tom Allen: Interview
Where did the idea come from?
“Rebekah comes to this combination of music and story quite honestly,” Allen says.
“The only thing I came up with, how I came up with the idea of wanting to tell a folktale,” Wolkstein begins. “I think I was inspired by my aunt.”
Her aunt was the late Diane Wolkstein, an author and folklorist who was also the official storyteller of New York City for a time. She was well known for weaving obscure and often forgotten myths into her stories, and left a legacy of many books and published works. Rebekah recalls her telling stories in Central Park. “She spent a great deal of time in Haiti.”
At one point, Wolkstein was doing some research with a view to using it for not only Payadora, but, among other things, Schmaltz and Pepper, the klezmer fusion ensemble she co-founded. “I was doing some research in Argentine folklore.”
That’s where she found the traces of the story of Carau. “It’s very minimal, what exists out there,” she notes of the source material she was able to find. Still, the outlines of the story intrigued her. “This has the bones of something that would be fun to work with.”
She and fellow members of Payadora are intrigued by the culture as well as the music. “We love the folkloric music of the region, as well as tango.”
The story allows for the idea of the main character traveling, which in turn allows for the inclusion of music from the various regions of Argentina. The album is composed of original music inspired by those diverse styles.
What appealed to her was the multimedia mix which added dancers and an illustrator. “More and more, I really like collaborating with other artists and art forms,” she says. “It’s been a really exciting opportunity with the project to actually employ other artists.”
Carau began as a COVID project which initially emerged as an online story video. “That’s what I imagined what I wanted this to be,” she says.
The dance components included pointe tango, or a fusion of classical ballet and tango.
“And we’re classical and jazz musicians,” she points out.
Payadora: The Legend of Carau On Stage
As Tom Allen relates, the concert version came together through conversations that took place on the road while touring.
“He was in the van. He and Laurie would kindly drive me to all these gigs,” Wolkstein recalls. “They were interested in what I was doing.”
“It started as a gig conversation,” Allen says. “Things tend to happen. Seeds get planted.”
“I said, actually, it occurs to me, would you be interested in narrating this story?” Rebekah says.
After checking out her proposal, Allen came back with a positive response. “It just adds to the collaborative element, which I love,” Wolkstein adds. “I was looking for people who were looking to have their own voice.”
That includes all aspects of the project. “I got beautiful illustrations done by a Canadian illustrator.” Rebekah says she looked through lists of OCAD grads, checking out their portfolios, before settling on the right person. “I wanted somebody who wanted to be creative with it.”
She was thrilled with what the collaborating artists put into it. “It just made me cry when I saw it.” Wolkstein came up with a samba, and the dancers went the extra mile to learn the moves. “I love it so much. It’s just magical what they did with it.”
Together with husband Drew Jurecka, they gradually assembled the moving parts they needed, from a folkloric dance troupe to a horse for the video. “It’s completely obsessed both Drew and I for many years.” It also took perseverance to apply for and wait for funding.
“I’m really excited to have this book. I wish my aunt was around so that she could see I followed in her footsteps.”
The Story
Specifically, the legend comes from the northeast region of Argentina. In the story, a young man’s mother is sick with a deadly ailment, and he’s sent to fetch medicine for her. But, once he sets out on his way, he hears an accordion ahead in the distance. Following its beckoning sound, he becomes more enchanted with the music, and forgets his mission.
He dances with a girl, and gets carried away in the festivities. However, after a while, someone comes in with a message for him — My condolences, Carau, your mother has just died…
Carau, however, thinks to himself that, since his mother has already died, he needn’t hurry home just yet. He stays at the celebration, and at the end of the night, looks to leave with the lady he’s been dancing with. But, she rejects him outright as someone who doesn’t care about his own mother
Carau’s heart is broken, and he finally goes home in tears. But, a god sees what has happened, and he’s transformed into a bird with black feathers and a mournful cry so that he can lament forever.
“It ends in tragedy,” Allen notes. “The gaucho has to face that he has been distracted by immediate pleasures and allowed his mother to die.” The cry of the bird makes his shameful act permanent. “The cry of that bird is a cautionary tale,” he says. “Rebekah said, it’s kind of a sad way to end the show.”
According to Wolkstein, it was Allen who suggested turning the tragic ending around.
“It’s always been a question about the piece,” says Rebekah. “It’s thought provoking. It’s contemplative. Tom said, if there was more to the story, what would it be?”
Allen says he began to think about what Carau would have to do to redeem himself.
“He just sat down and wrote this sequel,” Wolkstein recalls.
“Honestly, I didn’t know if Rebekah wanted to use it,” Allen adds.
Timeless Themes
While it’s a very old story, the themes are still relatable today.
“This is why mythology, myths or legends, stay with us,” Tom says. “The myths of humanity don’t change. They tell us something about ourselves,” he notes.
“He’s not an evil guy, this gaucho,” he explains. He does make some questionable choices — but he’s also been living with a mother who’s been slowly dying of an illness. He’s young, and can’t face the harsh truth.
“In the sequel that I crafted, he is able to face some of the horror that he’s done,” Allen says. That’s not to say he can go back and fix it. “In any retribution, there are costs.”
It’s in keeping with the spirit of the music, of tango, for example, which incorporates both joy and a darker side.
“What’s interesting about the story to me is that his punishment is becoming a bird,” he says. “It’s really a question of him realizing what that gift of transformation is for him.”
He’s looking forward to the performance.
“Elbio is just a thrilling singer,” he says. “They’re supremely inventive.”
- Find tickets for the June 13 concert premiere of The Legend of Carau [HERE].
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
- PREVIEW | Sound Travels Sound Art Festival At New Adventures In Sound Art This Summer - June 12, 2025
- INTERVIEW | Brampton Composer/Musician/Mechanical Organ Enthusiast Friendly Rich Marsella Talks About The Birds Of Marsville - June 12, 2025
- PREVIEW | Banff Bound: Vocalists Hillary Tufford, Maeve Palmer & Christian Matta Organize Benefit For Banff Workshop - June 12, 2025
