Los Angeles Opera Preview: CRUZAR LA CARA DE LA LUNA (The Soraya in Northridge)

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by Tony Frankel on February 12, 2018

in Music,Theater-Los Angeles

A MAGNIFICENT MARIACHI OPERA
COMES TO THE SORAYA

It was by sheer luck that I was in Chicago and happened upon the world’s first mariachi opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face of the Moon). Even though it immediately became one of my favorite operas, I knew that this type of opera would probably never be seen at a big company like LA Opera because it is so untraditional. Indeed, this 90-minute work is still rarely performed. Fortunately, the Los Angeles premiere is at hand, and you only have three chances to see it, February 16-18, 2018, at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at CSUN (The Soraya), formally the Valley Performing Arts Center. This all-new production, produced by The Soraya, will be directed by Dan Guerrero.

The Houston Grand Opera commissioned Cruzar la Cara de la Luna in 2010 to commemorate the Mexican War of Independence in 1810 and the Mexican Revolution in 1910. Written by José “Pepe” Martínez (music and lyrics) and Leonard Foglia (book and lyrics), this first piece of its kind combines authentic mariachi, opera, and theater into a seamless evening of entertainment. Unlike most operas, the orchestra is on the stage with the performers, and Mariachi Vargas, the oldest, continuously performing mariachi in the world, will be led by “Pepe” Junior (son of José “Pepe”). This opera (for lack of a better term) is performed in Spanish with English surtitles.

Cruzar is a story of a family divided and defined by the border they have crossed and re-crossed over several generations. Laurentino, an octogenarian Mexican laborer, lies dying in his Houston home, surrounded by his current family, but remembering and longing for the family he left behind and lost many years before. The memory of his beloved wife, Renata, who attempting to cross the border, fills his mind, and the musical proceeds in fluid shifts between past and present, English and Spanish, Mexico and Texas.

Although it’s not immediately apparent, mariachi and opera have a lot in common. Almost all mariachi songs (or cancones) tell stories, and opera is just a longer form of musical storytelling. Also, when the Spanish came over to the New World, they brought their music with them. This included the classical style of singing and music theory. This style of singing and harmony are used in European, classical music, and this operatic style of music and singing is a fundamental part of mariachi. So, both opera and mariachi are forms of musical storytelling that rely on the same vocal techniques and harmonies. Of course, there are many differences such as the song forms (or structure) and instruments (or orchestration). But with a little imagination (as with Cruzar la Cara de la Luna), these differences are overcome to create a wonderful and innovative piece of theater.

CAST

Rafael………………………….JONATHAN ARANA
Diana………………………… NATALIA FERREIRO
Renata………………….ALBA FRANCO-CANCÉL
Mark……………………..GREGORIO GONZÁLEZ
Lupita…………………………SUZANNA GUZMÁN
Young Rafael………………… JESUS MARTINEZ
Chucho……………………………JUAN MENDOZA
Victor………………………………….DANIEL MORA
Laurentino…………………DANIEL RODRÍGUEZ

Cruzar la Cara de la Luna
The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts
at CSUN (California State University, Northridge) (The Soraya)
18111 Nordhoff Street in Northridge
Friday, February 16 at 8
Saturday, February 17 at 8
Sunday, February 18 at 3
for tickets, call 818.677.3000 or visit The Soraya

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