Opera Mariachi???

Two words I certainly did not expect to listen together. The Houston Grand Opera will present its commission of a Mariachi Opera the next November 13th. Anthony Freud commissioned To cross the face of the moon / Cruzar la Cara de la Luna inspired by a performance he saw from Mariachi Vargas at the Wortham Theater two years ago.

The story “follows one family from its patriarch’s distant American dream to their generations-long quest for fulfillment in the country that still does not quite feel like home. The work’s story written by Leonard Foglia is based on first-hand accounts of Mexican immigrants to Houston. The score is by José “Pepe” Martínez, music director of the Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, who will make their only Houston appearance this year at the opera’s concert premiere on November 13 in the Brown Theater”.

Mariachi Vargas de Tecatitlán, also known as the Best Mariachi in the World, is a Mexican folk ensemble formed in 1897 in Jalisco México. The group is already going through their 5th generation. From 1937 until last year the Mariachi Vargas has produced over 50 recordings, whose contents are Huastecos sones, waltzes, popurris, polkas, huapango, cumbias, among others.

http://www.houstongrandopera.org/operacues_mariachi

Ana Paula Martínez Prado