''Florencia en el Amazonas'' (English title: ''Florencia in the Amazon'') is an
opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
in two acts composed by
Daniel Catán. It contains elements of
magical realism
Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical rea ...
in the style of
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...
and uses a libretto by Marcela Fuentes-Berain, one of his pupils. The characters are inspired by García Márquez, but the story is not drawn directly from any of his works. ''Florencia'' was co-commissioned by
Houston Grand Opera,
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...
, and
Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera is an American opera company based in Seattle, Washington. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to all ...
and premiered in Houston on October 25, 1996. It was the first
Spanish-language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
opera to be commissioned by major United States opera houses.
Performance history
Jointly commissioned by
Houston Grand Opera,
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera, originally called the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, is an American opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth-largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler P ...
and
Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera is an American opera company based in Seattle, Washington. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to all ...
, ''Florencia en el Amazonas'' had its world premiere at the
Wortham Theater Center on 26 October 1996 performed by Houston Grand Opera. The production was directed by
Francesca Zambello with sets designed by Robert Israel.
The production subsequently opened at Los Angeles Opera in 1997, and then at Seattle Opera in 1998. In 1999 it was performed in
concert version by the
Ópera de Bellas Artes in Mexico City and received its European premiere in 2006 at the
Theater Heidelberg in Germany in a new production directed by Michael Beyer.
The opera has had multiple performances in the United States in the 21st century. These include its revivals at Houston Grand Opera in 2001 and 2019, Seattle Opera in 2005, and Los Angeles Opera in 2014 and company premieres at
Florida Grand Opera,
Cincinnati Opera,
Opera Colorado,
Utah Opera,
Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performance ...
,
Nashville Opera,
Arizona Opera,
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through its 2013 bankruptcy, and again since 2016 when it was revived.
The opera company, dubbed "the peopl ...
, the
University of Illinois School of Music,
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and North Carolina Opera.
[Tommasini, Anthony (24 June 2016)]
"A Maudlin Trip Down the Amazon, With a Star in Disguise"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Retrieved 3 September 2016. In the 2021-2022 season, it became the first Spanish-language opera to be performed in a mainstage season at the
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox (Chicago opera), Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, w ...
.
The
Met Opera performed it for the 2023-24 season, marking the first Spanish language opera in over 100 years on their stage.
Roles
Synopsis
Act 1
The title character, Florencia Grimaldi, is a famous opera
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
returning to her homeland to sing at the opera house in
Manaus
Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...
with the hope that her performance will attract her lover Cristóbal, a butterfly hunter who has disappeared into the jungle. She boards the
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
''El Dorado'' for a trip up the
Amazon River, along with several passengers who are traveling to hear her sing. The passengers, however, are unaware of her identity. One of them, Rosalba, is a journalist planning to write a book about Grimaldi and hoping to interview her. In preparation, Rosalba has compiled a notebook for two years with information about the diva.
Florencia spends her time on the boat brooding about Cristóbal. She does not interact much with the other passengers initially, and the thread connecting the subplots in the story is provided by the ship's mate, Ríolobo, who also is the focus for the elements of magical realism. Ríolobo functions as a narrator, one of the characters, and the intermediary between reality and the mystical world of the river.
Meanwhile, Rosalba is beginning to fall in love with the steamboat captain's nephew, Arcadio, who rescues her notebook when it falls overboard. The two play a card game with Paula and Álvaro, a bickering couple who are also looking forward to Grimaldi's performance. After the game, a storm develops. Álvaro saves the boat but is thrown overboard. With the captain tragically obliterated and Ríolobo having disappeared, Arcadio takes the helm but the ship runs aground. Ríolobo reappears in the form of a river spirit and the storm stops after he calls upon the river gods.
Act 2
The characters recover from the storm. Florencia seems to feel Cristóbal's presence and is unsure whether he is alive or dead. Rosalba, focused on her objective, resists the attraction she and Arcadio feel for each other. Meanwhile, Paula, in spite of their constant fighting, recognizes that she still loves Álvaro and mourns his loss. Again Ríolobo appeals to the river and Álvaro is suddenly returned to the ship.
In the storm, Rosalba's precious notebook has been lost again, and when it is recovered again it has been ruined by the water. Distraught, Rosalba argues with Florencia about the meaning and value of its contents when suddenly she discovers that the woman she has been arguing with is the very singer she has been longing to interview. Realizing how Florencia draws inspiration from love, Rosalba decides to give in to her feelings for Arcadio.
The boat arrives in Manaus, but a
cholera
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
outbreak keeps the passengers quarantined aboard the ship. Florencia despairs of a reunion with Cristóbal, but in the end she is magically transformed into a butterfly, to represent her spirit going off to be reunited with her lover.
Recordings
* 2002:
Houston Grand Opera,
Albany Records. Performance with Patricia Schuman (Florencia),
Mark S. Doss (Riolobo),
Ana Maria Martinez (Rosalba),
Suzanna Guzmán (Paula), Hector Vasquez (Alvaro),
Chad Shelton (Arcadio), Oren Gradus (Captain),
Patrick Summers (conductor). TROY531-32
References
External links
''Florencia en el Amazonas''on the official website of Daniel Catán (with production photos and sound clips)
Programmefor the 2006 European premiere at
Theater Heidelberg
{{Authority control
Operas by Daniel Catán
Spanish-language operas
Operas
1996 operas
Magic realism plays
Opera world premieres at Houston Grand Opera
Operas set in Brazil
Music based on literature
Adaptations of works by Gabriel García Márquez