FFlloorreenncciiaa eenn eell AAmmaazzoonnaass James Lowe. Web. http://jameslowemusic.com/discography.asp A Letter to the Teachers Dear Teachers, Opera Colorado is pleased to continue providing engaging and educational programs and performances for students across Colorado. What follows is a guide that we hope you and your students find useful, as we learn about and explore Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas. In the spirit of exploration, we have included a set of 45 minute lessons that connects the opera with all different subjects of learning: music, visual arts, language arts, social studies, math, and science. The lessons include reference to, and are based upon, the new Colorado Department of Education’s Academic Standards: specifically, focusing on the fourth grade expectations. This does not mean, however, that these lessons should be limited to this age group. While we would be very pleased if you used these lessons in the exact format provided, we encourage you to expand, alter, and adapt these lessons so that they best fit your students’ abilities and development. After all, the teacher knows their student’s needs best. We would appreciate your feedback on our teacher evaluation form found at the end of this guide, and we hope that you enjoy all that Opera Colorado has to offer! Ciao! - Cherity Koepke - Director of Education & Community Programs - Meghan Benedetto - Manager of Education & Community Programs - Amelia Newport - Education Intern 2 Contact us to learn more! Opera Colorado’s Education & Community Programs department offers many more programs to assist your students as they continue to discover the world of opera. We have programs that take place at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House as well as programs that we can bring directly to your classroom. We even have opera education specialists that can teach lessons directly to your students. Cherity Koepke, Director of Education & Community Programs [email protected], 303.778.0371 Meghan Benedetto, Manager of Education & Community Programs [email protected], 303.778.7350 Amelia Newport, Education Intern [email protected], 303.778.0389 Opera Colorado 695 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 20 Denver, CO 80246 Opera Colorado makes every effort to ensure that the information provided in this guidebook is as accurate as possible. With the exception of materials used for educational purposes, none of the contents of this guidebook may be reprinted without the permission of Opera Colorado’s Education & Community Programs department. Dictionary definitions were taken from www.Merriam-Webster.com, and unless marked otherwise, educational information was gathered from www.Wikipedia.com . Unless otherwise noted, the materials in the Florencia en el Amazonas guidebook were developed and compiled by Opera Colorado Intern, Amelia Newport. 3 Table of Contents Synopsis of Production...................................................................................................... 6-10 Meet the Composer! ............................................................................................................ 11 Meet the Librettists!. .......................................................................................................... 12 Meet the Novelist! ................................................................................................................ 13 The Music ................................................................................................................................ 14 >>Listening Guide .......................................................................................................... 15 Activity: Diagramming Differences .............................................................................. 16 Activity: Compare and Contrast .................................................................................... 18 Activity: Story Line Analysis ........................................................................................... 21 Activity: Visual Arts ............................................................................................................ 26 Activity: Creative Writing................................................................................................. 26 Activity: Logic Puzzle ......................................................................................................... 28 Activity: Word Search ........................................................................................................ 31 Evaluation Form ................................................................................................................... 32 Tools for Educators ............................................................................................................. 33 4 FLORENCIA EN EL AMAZONAS: AN OPERA IN TWO ACTS Composed by Daniel Catán Libretto by Marcela Fuentes-Berain Contains “Magical Realism,” in the style of Gabriel García Márquez Debuted at the Houston Grand Opera in 1996. Cast of Characters Florencia Soprano [floh-REN-see-ah] Riolobo Bass-Baritone [ree-oh-LOH-boh] Rosalba Soprano [rose-AHL-bah] Paula Mezzo-Soprano [PAUL-ah] Alvaro Baritone [AHL-vah-roh] Arcadio Tenor [ahr-CAH-dee-oh] Captain Bass-bartione [CAP-ee-tahn] 5 Production Synopsis Based on the writings of Nobel Prize winning author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Florencia en el Amazonas details the journey of the legendary opera singer, Florencia Grimaldi and her fellow passengers on a boat ride down the Amazon. The passengers are unaware that Florencia is on the ship with them, and as they travel through the magical rainforest toward an opera house in Manaus, the passengers each harbor secret hopes of what the trip will bring… Act I The title character, Florencia Grimaldi, is a famous operatic soprano returning to her homeland to sing at the opera house in Manaus with the hope that her performance shall attract her lover Cristóbal, a butterfly hunter who has disappeared into the jungle. She boards the steamboat El Dorado for a trip down 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 game of cards with Paula and Álvaro, a bickering couple who are also looking forward to Grimaldi's performance. After the game, a storm develops and Álvaro saves the boat but is thrown overboard. With the captain knocked unconscious and Ríolobo having disappeared, 6 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 II The characters recover from the storm. Florencia seems to feel Cristóbal's presence and is unsure whether she 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 turns out ruined by the water. Distraught, she 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 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. Act I and II Synopsis taken from www.wikipedia.com 7 The Composer: Daniel Catán Often compared to great composers such as Puccini or Debussy, Daniel Catán was born in Mexico City in 1949. He studied philosophy at the University of Sussex and music at the University of Southampton. Eventually, he earned his Ph. D. at Princeton University, where he studied composition with three renowned professors. He was the first Mexican composer to have an opera produced in the United States. His first opera, Rappaccini’s Daughter, premiered at San Francisco Opera in March, 1994. Two years later, his opera Florencia en el Amazonas premiered at Houston Grand Opera to wide critical acclaim. In 1998, he received the Plácido Domingo Award for his A portrait of Daniel Catán contributions to opera, and in 2000 he became a www.themodernworld.com Guggenheim Fellow. Unlike most modernist composers, his operas were described as Neo-Romantic, and utilized many lyrical (and tonal) vocal lines. In addition to composition, Catán had a fruitful career as