There’s a Latin American theme to the 2023 Leeds Opera Competition. Happening in over a dozen venues throughout Leeds and organised by Northern Opera Group, this 12 months’s pageant runs from 19 August to 10 September 2023 and options the UK premiere of Robert Rodriguez’ opera Frida, concerning the artist Frida Kahlo, and a brand new manufacturing of Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires.
Since its premiere in 1991, Robert Rodriguez’ opera Frida has been enormously profitable within the USA, however is barely now making its solution to the UK. It was commissioned by the American Music Theater Competition and tells the life story of the artist Frida Kahlo. The Leeds Opera Competition manufacturing can be directed by Francesca Murray-Fuentes and performed by Odaline de la Martinez, and the forged consists of Parvathi Subbiah, Jacobo Ochoa, and Julia Merino.
Born in San Antonio, Texas, Robert Xavier Rodriguez’ lecturers have included Nadia Boulanger, Jacob Druckman, Bruno Maderna and Elliott Carter. Rodriguez describes Frida‘s idiom as “within the Gershwin, Sondheim, Kurt Weill custom of dissolving the obstacles and increasing the widespread floor between opera and musical theater”.
A brand new manufacturing of Piazzolla’s tango operita, Maria de Buenos Aires, can be given in collaboration with the Northern College of Modern Dance, choreographed & directed by Carlos Pons Guerra and performed by Natalia Luis-Bassa.
A brand new pop-up opera by composer Jose Puello and author Zodwa Nyoni can be touring venues throughout Leeds and surrounding areas. The opera is being developed with younger individuals from major colleges in Leeds who’re collaborating in workshops on conventional Latin American people tales and songs.
Moreover, there’s a programme of talks, workshops and recitals, together with works by Latin American feminine composers from Helen Glaisher Hernandez and Lorena Paz Nieto, a live performance from Cuban guitarist Ahmed Dickinson, and a uncommon UK look from Spanish pianist Jose Luis Nieto.
Full particulars from the pageant web site.
