Last night I went to see Tamandua - the new Brazilian opera by Joao MacDowell. It was really exciting, beautiful, and refreshing to witness new life being brought into the operatic repertoire.
Despite it being a concert-style production (ie: no costumes or stage direction), there was a lot of emotion and drama in the music and story. MacDowell - who conducted - mixed elements of Brazilian folk melodies and rhythms to create a powerful urban-inspired multi-lingual piece. With traditional western operatic dramatic themes (lust, passion, death), the work also made a powerful statement about modern issues such as social violence, crime, multi-culturalism, and mental illness.
Certain parts reminded me of Philip Glass - contemplative and meditative. There were also dynamic percussive pieces, and arias with serious dramatic intensity. Every movement showed MacDowell's flair for melody.
The singers were well cast, and sang beautifully. Amy Buckley's coloratura soprano was splendid. Claudio Mascarenhas gave a moving performance in his final aria - "Uereman." Guto Bittencourt and Abby Powell singing in Portuguese and English were also terrific. The ensemble also included a female chorus, cello, piano and Brazilian percussion.
There will be another performance on Sunday - and there are still tickets available. It's at an exhibit that re-creates the Brazilian rain forest called Amazonia Brasil. It should be a memorable experience.
Tickets are $40 at the door, or online by 3pm Sunday (visit site for more details on the exhibit and the opera). The ticket includes a full visit to the Amazonia Brasil exhibit, as well as an open caipirinha bar from 7-8 and again from 9-10.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment