Florencia en el Amazonas
Encyclopedia
Florencia en el Amazonas (English title: Florencia in the Amazon) is an opera
in two acts composed by Daniel Catán
. It contains elements of magical realism in the style of Gabriel García Márquez
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
, and Seattle Opera
and premiered in Houston on October 25, 1996. It was the first Spanish-language
opera to be commissioned by major United States opera houses.
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, 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.
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.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in two acts composed by Daniel Catán
Daniel Catán
Daniel Catán was a Mexican composer of Russian Sephardic Jewish descent known particularly for his operas and his creative friendship with the tenor Plácido Domingo.-Career:...
. It contains elements of magical realism in the style of Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
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
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
, Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an 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 Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
, and Seattle Opera
Seattle Opera
The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...
and premiered in Houston on October 25, 1996. It was the first Spanish-language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
opera to be commissioned by major United States opera houses.
Act I
The title character, Florencia Grimaldi, is a famous opera sopranoSoprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
returning to her homeland to sing at the opera house in Manaus
Manaus
Manaus is a city in Brazil, the capital of the state of Amazonas. It is situated at the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers. It is the most populous city of Amazonas, according to the statistics of Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and is a popular ecotourist destination....
with the hope that her performance shall attract her lover Cristóbal, a butterfly hunter who has disappeared into the jungle. She boards the steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
El Dorado for a trip down the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
, 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, 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 constanting fighting, recognizes that she still loves Álvaro and mourns his loss. Again Ríolobo again 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
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
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.
Performance chronology
- First performed at Houston Grand Opera, 1996
- Los Angeles Opera, 1997
- Seattle Opera, March 1998
- Houston Grand Opera, April-May 2001
- Madison Symphony Orchestra, Suite from Florencia en el Amazonas (world premiere), October 18-19, 2003
- Seattle Opera, 2004-2005 season: February-March 12, 2005
- Michigan State University Opera Theatre, March-April 2007
- Theater Heidelber (European première), 2006
- Cincinnati Opera: July, 2008
- Moores Opera Center, University of Houston, January-February 2009
- Maryland Opera Studio, University of Maryland, November 2010
- Opera ColoradoOpera ColoradoOpera Colorado is an opera company located in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1981, it presents an annual season of three to four fully staged productions...
, March 2012
Recordings
- Albany Records CD recording of the Houston Grand Opera performance with Patricia Schuman (Florencia), Mark S. DossMark S. DossMark Steven Doss is a Grammy Award-winning African-American bass-baritone, specializing in opera, concert and recital...
(Riolobo), Ana Maria MartinezAna María MartínezAna María Martínez is a Grammy award–winning operatic soprano from Puerto Rico. "The most beautiful voice of Latin America", [Martínez] "requires ranking among the top lyric sopranos of the day...[with] immaculate musicality underpinning every utterance." -Early life:Ana María Martínez was born...
(Rosalba), Suzanna GuzmánSuzanna GuzmánSuzanna Guzmán Suzanna Guzmán Suzanna Guzmán (born in East Los Angeles, California is an American mezzo-soprano. Ms. Guzmán has sung in major operas such as La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, La Favorite in Montpelier, France, and Goya at the Spoleto Festival in Italy...
(Paula), Hector Vasquez (Alvaro), Chad Shelton (Arcadio), Oren Gradus (Captain), Patrick Summers (conductor). TROY531-32