Opera Hispanica

2nd Annual Concert Fundraiser

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:48:57 +0000

Opera Hispánica cordially invites you to attend our
2nd Annual Concert Fundraiser
“Siempre Catán, Always Catán”

Friday, March 16, 2012
Lighthouse International
111 East 59th Street
New York, NY 10022

7PM VIP Reception/8:30PM Performance
$100 VIP Reception & Concert
$35 concert only

An event honoring the music of the late Mexican composer, Daniel Catán, this concert fundraiser will begin with a pre-performance reception followed by a special musical performance of Spanish-language opera by the acclaimed Argentinean soprano, Fabiana Bravo. Members of Opera Hispánica’s resident company will also perform excerpts from several of Daniel Catán’s operas such as II Postino (most recently seen on PBS starring Plácido Domingo), Florencia en el Amazonas and La Hija de Rappaccini.

Featuring:
Fabiana Bravo, Soprano
Alok Kumar, Tenor
Sishel Claverie, Mezzo-soprano
Robert Mellon, Baritone
Juan Pablo Horcasitas, Piano

Marcos Galvany & José Solis Betancourt, Chairs

TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS CLICK: HERE

All proceeds will benefit our upcoming production of La Hija de Rappaccini (Rappaccini’s Daughter) by Daniel Catán, to be presented in New York City during the summer of 2012.

Auditions

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 03:49:53 +0000

Coming Soon!

El Museo del Barrio

admin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Soneto de Amor y Muerte- Full-length Performance

Thursday, May 5, 2011 - 8pm

Pre-performance Discussion- 7pm

El Teatro

Admission: Free

Opera en español comes to El Museo del Barrio for the first time on Thursday, May 5, 2011. After presenting sold-out, preview performances throughout New York City, Opera Hispánica is proud to present its first, full-length concert of Soneto de Amor y Muerte with a special one-night only performance.

Come experience a magical evening of Spanish Zarzuela, Argentinian Tango, and Latin American opera performed by New York’s first and only Spanish-language opera company. Audience members are invited to participate in a pre-performance discussion with Opera Hispánica company members at 7 pm.

To reserve your FREE tickets to this performance visit www.elmuseo.org/en/event/opera-hispanica-soneto-de-amor-y-muerte .

Featuring:

Anna Noggle, Soprano

Camille Ortiz de Lafont, Soprano

Aniello Alberti, Tenor

Vaughn Lindquist, Baritone

Juan Pablo Horcasitas, Piano

Juan Pablo Jofre, Bandoneon/Arranger

Francisco Roldán, Classical Guitar

Opera Hispánica’s Spring Soiree

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:39:38 +0000

Suggested Donation
$35.00

Artist Eve Lateiner invites Opera Hispánica into her eclectic SoHo studio for this intimate cocktail soiree. Limited tickets available. To find out more about the artist, please visit www.evelateiner.com.

To secure your reservation for this event, guests are encouraged to donate in $35 increments according to the number of guests wishing to attend . Once your donation has been processed, you will receive an email confirmation from Fractured Atlas which will also serve as your confirmation for this event. Thank you supporting Opera Hispánica!

To donate, please click the button below

For more information email reservations@operahispanica.org

Opera Hispánica, Inc. is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions on behalf of Opera Hispánica, Inc. may be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

$30.00 is a direct donation to Opera Hispánica and considered tax deductible.

WNYC CULTURE: Opera in New York City Takes on a Spanish Accent

admin — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:32:04 +0000

By Julia Furlan: WNYC Culture Producer

On the streets, stage and screen, New York City is no stranger to the multi-regional staccatos of the Spanish accent. Nearly 17 percent of the city’s population hails from the Spanish-speaking world—from the tip of Southern Chile through Central America and the Caribbean to Spain. That’s created a movement of opera companies, ballet troupes, orchestras and film festivals focusing on Spanish-language material, which is increasingly filling seats in teatros across the city.

In the grand form of small and often underfunded New York City theaters, the Thalia Spanish Theater in Queens advertises a repertorio where “every month is Hispanic Heritage Month.” The Opera Hispánica, which is in its inaugural year, is a company dedicated exclusively to Spanish-language material. Another opera, Ricardo Llorca’s work about Internet addiction, “Las Horas Vacias (The Empty Hours),” puts on an of-the-minute theme at Lincoln Center next week.

Executive Director Daniel Frost Hernandez feels that although the pieces are in Spanish, any audience will connect with the music. “These compositions are based on universal issues that are obviously of global interest—they affect all of us,” he says. “It is the perspective from a Latin American or Hispanic composer that makes it Latin American or Hispanic.”

Dr. Antoni Piza, the director of the Foundation for Iberian Music at the CUNY Graduate Center, is happy that New York is celebrating the extended vowels and vibrato of opera en Español. ”Not only will the several million Spanish-speaking people who live in the New York City area have access to their own tradition of musical theater,” he says, “the English-speaking audience gets to know something that most likely they would not encounter.”

Opera’s lingua franca is traditionally Italian. In Spain and Latin America, though, the tradition of zarzuelas, or light comedic operas, dates back to the 17th century. Dr. Piza is emphatic about reminding audiences that one of the most famous operatic arias was written by a Spaniard. “Carmen’s ‘Habanera,” he says, “of course was written by a Spanish composer,” referencing Sebastián Yradier, whose song was famously plagiarized by Georges Bizet. Olé to that.

Videos

admin — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 20:39:18 +0000

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Opera Hispanica aims to promote operas in Spanish

admin — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 00:41:37 +0000

By ANA ELENA AZPURUA, The Associated Press: NEW YORK October 13, 2010 (AP)

Two sopranos, dressed in long black gowns, merged their voices with a tenor and a baritone under crystal chandeliers.

“Other opera companies, the traditional ones in New York, introduce everything in Italian, in French and in German, but Opera Hispanica is going to predominantly perform in Spanish,” said Daniel Frost Hernandez, founding executive director of the company.

Hernandez, a native of San Antonio who sang with regional opera companies and currently works at a marketing firm, said he launched Opera Hispanica because he noticed more Hispanic composers and opera singers, as well as productions in Spanish.

“Il Postino,” with Placido Domingo as Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, is probably the most talked about opera in Spanish this season. Composed by Mexican Daniel Catan, the LA Opera is presenting it through Saturday.

Likewise, Houston Grand Opera is announcing the “the first mariachi opera,” titled “To Cross the Face of the Moon,” for a single performance on Nov. 13. A few days later, the New York Opera Society will perform “Las horas vacias” (“The Empty Hours”), by Ricardo Llorca, at Lincoln Center.

Operas in Spanish are not only being showcased in cities with established Hispanic populations such as New York, Los Angeles and Houston. In Milwaukee, the Florentine Company chose “Rio de sangre” (“River of Blood”) by Don Davis — who composed the score for “The Matrix” trilogy — for its first world premiere. It’s also the first time the 77-year-old company will present an opera in Spanish.

“We do have a sizable Spanish speaking population in Milwaukee, which a lot of people aren’t aware of,” William Florescu, general director of the Florentine Opera, said. “That was also a demographic within Milwaukee that I wanted to draw to the opera.”

Florescu said they first thought of producing “Florencia en el Amazonas” (“Florencia in the Amazon”), composed by Catan and which premiered in Houston in 1996. It is considered one of the most popular operas in Spanish. However, Florescu said, they wanted to do an opera not seen before and decided to do Davis’ work, a drama about a coup in a Latin American country.

Hernandez began working on Opera Hispanica more than a year ago. He got in touch with Mexican pianist Juan Pablo Horcasitas, who recently debuted at Carnegie Hall, and hired him as musical director. Later, he had coffee with Puerto Rican soprano Camille Ortiz and persuaded her to serve as Opera Hispanica’s artistic director. Ortiz and Horcasitas both graduated from the Manhattan School of Music.

“It was the answer to my prayers,” Ortiz said. She explained she had been trying for years to promote works in Spanish, adding that the repertoire is not often taught at American music schools.

Singers from Brazil and Cyprus as well as the U.S. will take part in the company’s first shows.

Still, said former opera star Martina Arroyo, the company needs “financial support plus the people coming and, when I say people, I don’t mean only Hispanic people coming.” Arroyo is a member of the organization’s Artistic Advisory Board.

“It’s beautiful music that is absolutely a part of our musical worldwide library and it should be heard,” she said.

———

Online:

Opera Hispanica: http://operahispanica.org/

Link:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=11871124

Mailing List

admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:43:17 +0000

Opera Hispánica would love for you to join our mailing list so we can keep you updated about upcoming performances, events and news. We promise to keep it interesting.

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¡Bienvenidos, Welcome!

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 04:43:08 +0000

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to Opera Hispánica’s official website. We encourage you to visit our site often for information regarding our mission, company news, programs, upcoming performances, photos, videos and ways to get involved.

As the first opera company in New York to exclusively showcase Latin American and Spanish Opera, we look forward to adding our voices and perspective to the already rich opera community in New York City.

From the 17th century Spanish Zarzuelas to modern-day composers like Daniel Catan, Robert Xavier Rodriguez, and Samuel Zyman Latin American and Spanish opera comprise a diverse collection of music, steeped in rich history and tradition.

As we begin to see increasing numbers of composers writing operas with Spanish and Latin American influence — and major opera companies all over the country recognize this important genre — Opera Hispánica is proud to support and cultivate the musicians, composers and writers who specialize in this arena.

We could not be where we are today without the tremendous support from the New York City art, cultural and academic community. We are proud to present our 2010-2011 citywide concert series in collaboration with The Americas Society, Barnard College, and El Museo del Barrio.

Mil gracias to the many individuals who have supported and nourished the vision of Opera Hispánica, including Camille Ortiz, Juan Pablo Horcasitas and our Board of Directors. On behalf of the entire Opera Hispánica family, thank you for your support!

We hope you will return for additional updates and news about the company as we continue to grow and develop. For information about upcoming events, please visit our events page, follow us on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for our mailing list for the most up to date news.

Abrazos,

Daniel Frost Hernández

Founding Executive Director

ASSOCIATED PRESS: Nueva compañía en EEUU apuesta a óperas en español

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 02:51:27 +0000

Por ANA ELENA AZPURUA-NUEVA YORK, Última Actualización Por: miércoles, 06 de octubre de 2010

NUEVA YORK (AP) — En una esquina de la sala de pisos de madera el pianista acompañaba a los cantantes, acoplándose al ritmo de su respiración, mientras dos sopranos con largos vestidos negros se alternaban con un tenor y un barítono ante unas 150 personas, bajo las arañas de luces de una casa neoyorquina de principios del siglo XX.

Pero en lugar de una velada de ópera en italiano, francés o alemán, los jóvenes artistas cantaron exclusivamente en español, entonando temas como “La maja y el ruiseñor” de la ópera “Goyescas” y “Siempre es el amor” de la zarzuela “Doña Francisquita”.

El recital, bautizado “Sonetos de amor y muerte”, marcó el debut de Opera Hispánica, una compañía enfocada en llevar piezas del mundo hispanoparlante al público neoyorquino.

“Otras compañías más tradicionales en Nueva York presentan todo en italiano, francés o alemán, pero Opera Hispánica va a hacer presentaciones predominantemente en español”, dijo Daniel Frost Hernández, fundador y director ejecutivo de la compañía.

Hernández, un tenor que cantó con compañías regionales y actualmente trabaja en una empresa de mercadotecnia, dijo que notó que habían más hispanos componiendo óperas, así como cantantes latinos. También lo motivó que producciones en español estuviesen llenando salas.

De hecho, Opera Hispánica, que cuenta con la asesoría de la prestigiosa soprano de ascendencia puertorriqueña Martina Arroyo, aparece en momentos en los que otras compañías del país han optado por incluir obras en español.

La que más ha causado revuelo es probablemente “Il Postino” (“El cartero”) del mexicano Daniel Catán, que hasta el 16 de octubre estará presentando la Opera de Los Angeles, con Plácido Domingo en el papel de Pablo Neruda.

Asimismo, la Gran Opera de Houston está preparando lo que ha denominado “la primera ópera mariachi del mundo”, titulada “Cruzar la cara de la Luna”, para una única función el 13 de noviembre. Unos días más tarde, la Sociedad de Opera de Nueva York presentará “Las horas vacías” de Ricardo Llorca en el Lincoln Center.

Pero no sólo ciudades como Nueva York, Los Angeles y Houston, que cuentan con un alto porcentaje de hispanos, se han animado a presentar óperas en la lengua de Cervantes. En Milwaukee, principal urbe del estado noroccidental de Wisconsin, la compañía The Florentine eligió “Ríos de sangre” de Don Davis —quien musicalizó la trilogía de películas “The Matrix”— a la hora de presentar su primer estreno mundial en 77 años de existencia. Es, además, su primera producción en español.

“Tenemos una importante población que habla español en Milwaukee, lo cual no mucha gente conoce, a quienes quería atraer también a la ópera”, señaló el director general de The Florentine, William Florescu, en una entrevista telefónica.

Florescu explicó que pensaron producir “Florencia en el Amazonas”, también compuesta por Catán, que se estrenó en Houston en 1996 y es considerada la primera ópera en español comisionada por grandes compañías de Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, dijo el director, como querían un estreno, optaron por la pieza de Davis, que gira en torno a un golpe de estado en un país latinoamericano.

“El español es una lengua importante en la que se deberían cantar óperas y eso es algo que ahora está ocurriendo mucho en este país”, dijo Florescu.

Hernández, quien empezó a trabajar en la creación de Opera Hispánica hace más de un año, venía gestando la idea desde mucho antes.

Como parte de ese proceso contactó al pianista mexicano Juan Pablo Horcasitas, quien hace poco tuvo su primera presentación en el Carnegie Hall, para que fuese el director musical de la compañía. Luego, mientras se tomaban un café, convenció también a la soprano puertorriqueña Camille Ortiz, graduada de la Escuela de Música de Manhattan con Horcasitas y ex alumna de la Fundación Martina Arroyo en Nueva York, para que se sumara como directora artística.

“Fue una contestación a mis oraciones, como una confirmación a mi llamado”, dijo Ortiz del proyecto, agregando que ya tenía varios años tratando de impulsar el repertorio en español que señaló no se enseña en las escuelas de música de Estados Unidos.

“Este tipo de música producida en Latinoamérica realmente acá no se conoce en lo absoluto, como si no hubiera pasado nunca nada”, dijo en referencia a las óperas Sebastián Zubieta, director musical de la Sociedad de las Américas, donde Opera Hispánica tuvo su primera presentación el 29 de septiembre. En el caso de las zarzuelas, agregó, las obras son más conocidas.

Los directivos destacaron que la compañía busca talentos no sólo entre los latinos. En sus primeras presentaciones, participarán cantantes provenientes desde Brasil, Chipre y varias partes de Estados Unidos. La soprano Anna Noggle de Ohio, por ejemplo, se llevó las manos al pecho al explicar “la pasión” que siente al cantar en español.

Tras su primera presentación, Hernández se mostró satisfecho, aunque aseguró que hay aspectos “logísticos” que deben mejorarse.

Cuando se le preguntó a Martina Arroyo qué necesita la compañía para tener éxito, la soprano respondió: “Apoyo financiero, más gente que vaya y, cuando digo gente yendo, me refiero no sólo a un público hispano”.

Pero, si bien el objetivo a largo plazo es conquistar al gran público, la compañía está empezando con una producción “de bajo presupuesto, pero alta calidad”, según Ortiz, en instituciones cercanas a la comunidad hispana como la Sociedad de las Américas o El Museo del Barrio, donde se presentará el año que viene. También tiene programada una función el 15 de noviembre en la casa de estudios superiores Barnard de la Universidad de Columbia.

“De nada me sirve alquilar un teatro y que nadie venga”, dijo Hernández. “Hay que captar primero a un público”.

Por lo pronto, la naciente compañía pareció tener una buena acogida entre quienes asistieron al debut de Opera Hispánica, que empezó con la lectura de “Si alguna vez tu pecho se detiene” de Pablo Neruda.

“Maravilloso”, dijo David Finkelstein, quien aseguró ser un asiduo seguidor de la ópera. “Un arte genuino sin el tipo de escenografía de Disney que odio. Simplemente artistas presentando algo verdadero”.

Link:

http://entretenimiento.latino.msn.com/noticias/articulos.aspx?cp-documentid=25849279

En Internet:

Opera Hispánica: http://operahispanica.org/