Madison Opera Presents MARÍA DE BUENOS AIRES

Madison Opera livens up winter with its first production of María de Buenos Aires, a tango opera by the  legendary Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla.

A dark, surreal story told through song, poetry, and dance, María de  Buenos Aires will have performances on January 31 at 7:30pm and February 2 at 2:30pm in the Capitol Theater.  

Born in the slums of Buenos Aires “one day when God was drunk,” title  character María turns to the city in a desperate quest for freedom,  falling in love with its tango rhythms. In a series of emotional  moments, María and those around her reckon with violence, death,  and ultimately rebirth.  

With music by Astor Piazzolla and libretto by Horacio Ferrer, María de  Buenos Aires premiered in 1968 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Its  stunning music and unusual story eventually turned it into one of the  most-performed Spanish-language pieces in the world.

“I am so thrilled to produce María de Buenos Aires in Madison, as it is  one of the most intriguing works we have ever performed,” says  Kathryn Smith, Madison Opera's General Director. “Piazzolla's  sensational music, Ferrer's beautifully surreal poetry, and the way that  opera fuses with dance make it a piece like no other.” 

Mezzo Kelly Guerra debuts as María, the title character who “sings a tango no one has ever sung.” Guerra has sung the  role with Kentucky Opera, and has also sung with the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Opera Santa  Barbara, and Chautauqua Opera.  

Baritone Laureano Quant debuts as El Payador, the other singer in the piece, playing everyone from a poet to a  psychoanalyst. Quant is a recent graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center, and has also sung with Wolf  Trap Opera, Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Ópera de Colombia.  

Kirstin Chávez portrays El Duende, an other-worldly being who tells us the story of María. Chávez has performed the  title role in Carmen around the world, from the U.S. to China, Japan, Australia, and Great Britain, and sang at Madison  Opera's Opera in the Park 2006.  

Kanopy Dance is an integral part of the production, with choreography by the company's co-artistic director, Lisa  Thurrell, and company members Miye Bishop, Nathan Castro Llanos, Carolyn Fitzgibbons, Hannah King, Maddie Lindbeck, Edward Salas, and Alex Trofka playing saints, sinners, and everything in between. Kanopy was also an  important part of Madison Opera's production of The Seven Deadly Sins / Trouble in Tahiti in 2023.  

Also appearing in the production are Marjorie Pan as young María and local artists George Abbott III, Hailey Cohen, Lifan  Deng, Kimberly Grez, Eleanor Mayerfeld, and Tyler Stone as the Ensemble.  

Frances Rabalais directs this new production, returning to Madison Opera after directing Tosca last season. Kamna  Gupta conducts the piece in her Madison Opera debut, along with members of the Madison Symphony Orchestra. The  design team for this new production is Katy Fetrow (set), Karen Brown-Larimore (costumes), and Tláloc López Watermann (lighting).  

The opera will be sung and spoken in Spanish, with projected English translations.  

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