1718Studyguidemaria.Pdf
MARIA DE BUENOS AIRES A little tango opera in two parts for orchestra, narrator, and singers Texts by Horacio Ferrer | Music by Ástor Piazzolla Premiere May 8, 1968, Sala Planeta, Buenos Aires NOVEMBER 10, 11, 12, 2O17 The Noah Liff Opera Center Judy & Joe Barker | Jessica & Zach Liff Co-sponsors Directed by John Hoomes Conducted by Dean Williamson Featuring the Nashville Opera Orchestra CAST Maria Cassandra Velesco* El Payador Luis Alejandro Orozco* El Duende Luis Ledesma* Tango Axis Mariela Barufaldi* Jeremías Massera* The Girl Zazou France Gray* Sofia Viglianco* * Nashville Opera debut † Former Mary Ragland Young Artist TICKETS & INFORMATION Contact Nashville Opera at 615.832.5242 or visit nashvilleopera.org. Study Guide Contributors Anna Young, Education Director Cara Schneider, Creative Director THE JUDY & NOAH SUE & EARL LIFF FOUNDATION SWENSSON THE STORY Ástor Piazzolla’s tango opera, Maria de Buenos Aires, premiered on May 8, 1968, in Sala Planeta, Buenos Aires. The seductive quality of nuevo tango and the bandoneon play such an important role, they embody a central character in the story. Some say that the opera is a metaphor for tango and the city of Buenos Aires, with Maria herself being the personification of the tango. The surrealist plot is conveyed with the words of a narrator character and poet, El Payador, and his antithesis El Duende, an Argentinian goblin-spirit from South American mythology whose powers cause the loss of innocence. The opera, separated into two parts, first tells the story of the young Maria, her struggles on earth, and ultimate demise. The libretto states she “was born on the day God was drunk.” In the second part of the opera, we explore her existence as “Shadow Maria,” experiencing the dark underworld of Buenos Aires.
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