At the end of last month, I learned that Opera San José (OSJ) had formed a partnership with the Los Angeles Opera (LAO) to create a vocal recital entitled Latina Composers. The information I have received to date, most of which has been documented on an OSJ Web page says more about the performers than about what will actually be performed. However, given how little is known about the subject matter and given that this recital will be streamed for free beginning on May 14, this seemed like a judicious time to get out the word.
The program has been curated by LAO Artist in Residence Russell Thomas, and the performers will include current OSJ resident artists. The composers represented on the program date from both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: Modesta Bor (1926-1998), María Luisa Escobar (1903-1985), Chabuca Granda (1920-1983), María Grever (1885-1951), Ernestina Lecuona (1882-1951), Ángela Peralta (1845-1883), and Consuelo Velázquez (1916-2005). (Lecuona was the sister of the virtuoso pianist and composer Ernesto, who is probably best known for his virtuoso “Malagueña,” the final movement of his 1933 Suite Andalucía.) The program will also showcase four living composers: Gabriela Lena Frank (no stranger to the Bay Area), Tania León (whose music has been performed by both Chanticleer and the San Francisco Girls Chorus), Mariela Rodríguez, and Irma Urteaga.
Baritone Efraín Solís accompanied by guitarist Jose Chuy Hernandez (from the OSJ Web page for the recital being discussed)
The OSJ resident artists that will perform in this recital will be soprano Vanessa Becerra, tenor Carlos Enrique Santelli, and baritone Efraín Solís. They will be joined by baritone Luis Alejandro Orozco. Instrumental accompaniment will be provided by pianists César Cancino and Bryndon Hassman and guitarist Jose Chuy Hernandez. The Latin American Music Center at Indiana University also contributed to the preparation of the recital selections.
The current plan is to stream this program on both Facebook and YouTube on May 14. The content will then remain for subsequent on-demand viewing for a limited time. Unfortunately, the Web pages to serve as streaming sites have not yet been created. However, that aforementioned OSJ Web page includes an RSVP which requests only first and last names and an electronic mail address, which, presumably, will be used to inform those replying with URL information once it becomes available.
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