New York to stage first opera with mariachi

The New York Opera prepares the staging of Cruzar la cara de la Luna ( Cross the Face of the Moon ) considered the first opera in the world written specifically for mariachi music .

With a script by Leonard Foglia and music by José Martínez , who was the composer and arranger of Mariachi Vargas de Tecatitlán , the opera will be staged in four performances from January 25 to 28 at the Rose Theater of the Jazz forum at Lincoln Center in Manhattan .

Cruzar la

cara

de la Luna

was commissioned by the Houston Opera in 2010, and it is recognized as the first opera for mariachi in history. Later, Foglia and Martínez created a second opera for mariachi, The Past Never Ends .

Octavio Moreno

, Mexican baritone from Sinaloa and who personifies Laurentino , main character of the opera, explained that he began studying music for his passion for ranchero music , a genre that stopped singing for years to concentrate on his classical baritone training.

In adittion to Moreno, Cecilia Duarte, Efraín Solís, María Valdés, Daniel Montenegro, Vanessa Alonzo, Miguel de Aranda, and Miguel Núñez participate. The music is in charge of the Mariachi Los Camperos, winner of a Grammy Award, under the conduction of David Hanlon.

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