El Milagro del Recuerdo | Houston Grand Opera

Posted on August 30, 2019October 2, 2019 by admin

The Houston Grand Opera changed the landscape of an entire art form in 2010 when they premiered Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face of the Moon).

Regarded as the first mariachi opera, José “Pepe” Martínez and Leonard Foglia’s Cruzar la Cara de la Luna saw violins and trumpets, guitars and the traje de charro on stage to tell a story that spanned three generations, and a family divided by the U.S.-Mexico border. Though commissioned by HGOco to mark the anniversary of the Mexican War of Independence (1810) and the Mexican Revolution (1910), the relevance of the show has only been amplified since its premiere. And the show has enjoyed much success, being staged around the country and abroad.

This holiday season, HGO returns to the world established by Martínez & Foglia for El Milagro del Recuerdo (The Miracle of Remembering). The prequel, a collaborative effort between Foglia and Martínez’s son Javier, will feature returning characters Renata, Lupita and Chucho, performed once again by Cecilia Duarte, Vanessa Alonzo and Miguel de Aranda. Sung in Spanish with projected English surtitles, the opera will visit the characters at Christmastime in Mexico and will explore tradition, family and (like its predecessor) dreams of a better future.

El Milagro del Recuerdo marks HGO’s 67th world premiere, and it is one of four mainstage operas this season (along with Saul, La favorite and The Magic Flute) that are part of Seeking the Human Spirit, the company’s six-year initiative to emphasize the universal themes present in opera and bring them to a wider Houston audience. Since its implementation in the fall of 2017, at least three mainstage operas (one of which has to be a new work) share a common theme each season. For the 2019–2020 season, the theme will be “identity.”

Houston Grand Opera’s El Milagro del Recuerdo runs December 5 to 22, 2019. The Wortham Theater Center.