The Atlanta Opera Discoveries Series Presents MARIA DE BUENOS ARIES, 2/2-2/6

The Atlanta Opera's Discoveries series brings Maria de Buenos Aires, a tango opera with music by Astor Piazzolla and texts by Horacio Ferrer, to Atlanta for the first time.

The Atlanta Opera presents Maria de Buenos Aires on February 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7, 2017 at Le Maison Rouge located inside Paris on Ponce. Limited quantities of single tickets are on sale for $60 and can be purchased online at atlantaopera.org or by calling 404-881-8885. Seating is General Admission, but ticketholders have the option to upgrade to a table. The opera will be performed in Spanish.

"The seductive, sexy tango opera offers a glimpse into the night clubs of Buenos Aires with Maria, the ill-fated prostitute who was 'born with three crooked nails in her voice, on a day that God was drunk'," said Tomer Zvulun, General and Artistic Director at The Atlanta Opera, who is also directing the production. "Composer Astor Piazzolla, alongside poet Horacio Ferrer, created a magical, hypnotic world that has very little to do with traditional narrative and everything to do with the ambience associated with the tango culture of Buenos Aires. In fact, Maria is actually a metaphor for the spirit of Buenos Aires in the 1960s. The opera's imagery evokes a world that is surreal, poetic and sensual, which is the key to this evening."

First presented in 1968, Maria de Buenos Aires features tango dancing and an orchestra of 11 musicians. The music, conducted by Jorge Parodi, relies on a folk ensemble including bandoneon, a traditional Argentinian accordion typically associated with tango.

"Tango is the music of my life. Growing up in Argentina, the songs speak to me. Not only are they in my native language, they are full of passion and tell stories about love, lost love and loneliness," said Parodi, an in-demand conductor for this opera. "Maria, like Buenos Aires, is beautiful and sad. Only tango - and no other idiom - could tell the story so well."

New York-based Parodi has worked as conductor at Buenos Aires Lírica (Argentina), The Banff Centre (Canada), Tsaritsynskaya Opera Volgograd (Russia), Encuentros Internacionales de Opera (Mexico), Hofstra University and New York University among others; and as coach or repetiteur at several prestigious institutions, including the Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Opera Tampa, Connecticut Grand Opera, Lake George Opera Festival to name a few. He has collaborated with such artists as Tito Capobianco, Sherrill Milnes, and Rufus Wainwright; and he has assisted conductors of the caliber of Lorin Maazel and Julius Rudel.

Under the direction of Zvulun, the production features soprano Catalina Cuervo as Maria. In her Atlanta debut, Cuervo will sing Maria, a role which she has performed at Cincinnati Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and Syracuse Opera. Ms. Cuervo debuted her role as Frida Kahlo in Frida with Michigan Opera Theater in 2015. Other previous roles include Adriana in the Zarzuela Los Gavilanes and Hanna in The Merry Widow with La Fundacion Manzur in Bogota, Colombia, Amapola in La Leyenda del Beso and Musetta in La bohème with La Fundación Prolirica in Medellin, Magda in Puccini's La Rondine and as cover to Alinda in Cavalli's Giasone for the Chicago Opera Theater. Ms. Cuervo was a finalist at the Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition in Germany, won the Graduate Division of the Chicago Area for the Classical Singer Competition, as well as being a finalist in New York for the same competition.

The 16-17 season will welcome many Atlanta Opera collaborations and a new take on the successful Discoveries series with site-specific operas. The Discoveries series challenges the audience to leave their preconceptions behind and open themselves up to something completely different. Celebrating its third year, the Discoveries series is designed to expose the audience to different cultures, different stories, and different musical styles. Thus far, the Atlanta public has embraced this adventurous spirit translating into a sold out run and added performances.

Following Maria de Buenos Aires, the final Discoveries series production will again celebrate innovation and collaboration. This May 19 and 20 at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the Atlanta Opera will present a new interpretation of Mozart's The Secret Gardener. A collaboration with the NY-based company, On Site Opera, the production will debut on the Upper West Side in New York City.

About the Discoveries Series

The Atlanta Opera Discoveries series is dedicated to audience members who are seeking new works, new ideas and fresh perspectives. As a part of The Atlanta Opera's efforts to bring opera to new audiences all over the Atlanta Metro area, these productions are performed in exciting alternative venues.

About the Atlanta Opera

The Atlanta Opera is one of the finest regional opera companies in the nation. In 2013, the company recruited internationally recognized stage director Tomer Zvulun as its General and Artistic Director. In the 2014-2015 season, the company launched the acclaimed Discoveries series of operas staged in alternative theaters around Atlanta. The series was recognized by the Atlanta Journal Constitution as part of its Best of 2015 awards and the company was nominated for the International Opera Awards in London in 2016. In the 2016-2017 season, the company expanded its main stage season from three to four productions at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre while ushering the Discoveries series into its 3rd season for a total of six productions. The Opera works with world-renowned singers, conductors, directors, and designers who seek to enhance the art form and make it accessible for a sophisticated, 21st century audience. The Atlanta Opera was founded in 1979, and to this day adheres to its mission to enrich lives through opera.

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