Many of the operas listed have librettos in Spanish, the official language of Mexico. However, the practice of using French or Italian librettos was common in 19th and early 20th century Mexico when much of the opera in that country was performed by visiting troupes largely composed of European singers unaccustomed to singing in Spanish. Both Gustavo Campa's Le roi poete and Ricardo Castro Herrera's La légende de Rudel had French librettos,[2] while Catalina de Guisa by Cenobio Paniagua and several other notable operas of this period had Italian librettos.[3] Although the vast majority of later Mexican operas have Spanish librettos, there have been 20th century works set to English texts, most notably The visitors by Carlos Chávez with a libretto by the American poet Chester Kallman.
Opera was brought to Mexico during the colonial era by Spanish missionaries and settlers. The first documented opera performance in Mexico took place in 1701 in Mexico City. The first opera by a Mexican-born composer was Manuel de Zumaya's La Parténope, performed in 1711 before a private audience in the Viceroy's Palace in Mexico City.[4] However, the first Mexican composer to have his operas publicly staged was Manuel Arenzana, the maestro de capilla at Puebla Cathedral from 1792 to 1821.[5] He is known to have written at least two works performed during the 1805/1806 season at the Teatro Coliseo in Mexico City – El extrangero and Los dos ribales en amore. Both were short comic pieces.[6] The first Mexican opera seria was Paniagua's Catalina de Guisa (composed in 1845 and premiered in 1859).
With its story about the Huguenots in France and an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, contemporary critics noted that the only thing Mexican about it was the composer.[7][8] Although the traditions of European opera and especially Italian opera had initially dominated the Mexican music conservatories and strongly influenced native opera composers (in both style and subject matter), elements of Mexican nationalism had already appeared by the latter part of the 19th century with operas such as Aniceto Ortega del Villar's 1871 Guatimotzin, a romanticised account of the defense of Mexico by its last Aztec ruler, Cuauhtémoc. Later works such as Miguel Bernal Jiménez's 1941 Tata Vasco (based on the life of Vasco de Quiroga, the first bishop of Michoacán) incorporated native melodies into the score.[7]
Únicamente la verdad, by Gabriela Ortiz, libretto by Ruben Ortiz, – premiered 2010 Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Indiana University at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater
Illegal Alien/Inmigrante Ilegal, by Alfonso Molina, libretto by Alfonso Molina, – premiered 2014 University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music in the University of Arizona at the Crowder Hall Theater
Arsenikblüten, by Diana Syrse, libretto by Daniélle Sarréra – premiered 2014 Sankt Lukas Kirche. München, Germany.
Marea Roja, by Diana Syrse, libretto by Alejandro Román Bahena, – premiered 2016 Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City
Cómo aprendió Nanita a hacer flan by José Enrique González Medina – premiered 2017, Teatro de las Artes, Cenart, Ciudad de México. Commissioned by Cincinnati Opera Education.
Luciérnaga, by Gabriela Ortiz, libretto by Silvia Peláez, premiered in 2018, Sala Miguel Covarrubias, UNAM. Commissioned for the 50th Anniversary of 1968 Students Movement in Mexico.
↑ operacalli.com, Leoncio y Lena[permanent dead link] (sourced from José Octavio Sosa, Diccionario de la Ópera Mexicana, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2005)(in Spanish, accessed 26 March 2010)
↑ operacalli.com, Ambrosio o La fábula del mal amor[permanent dead link] (sourced from José Octavio Sosa, Diccionario de la Ópera Mexicana, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2005) (in Spanish, accessed 25 March 2010)
↑ operacalli.com, La sunamita[permanent dead link] (sourced from José Octavio Sosa, Diccionario de la Ópera Mexicana, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2005) (in Spanish, accessed 25 March 2010)
↑ operacalli.com, Madre Juana (sourced from José Octavio Sosa, Diccionario de la Ópera Mexicana, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2005) (in Spanish, accessed 25 March 2010)
↑ operacalli.com, La tentación de San Antonio (sourced from José Octavio Sosa, Diccionario de la Ópera Mexicana, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2005) (in Spanish, accessed 26 March 2010)
Saavedra, Leonora, "Staging the Nation: Race, Religion, and History in Mexican Opera of the 1940s", Opera Quarterly, Vol. 23, 2007, pp.1–21
Stevenson, Robert Murrell, Music in Mexico: A Historical Survey, Crowell, 1952
Sturman, Janet Lynn, Zarzuela: Spanish operetta, American stage, University of Illinois Press, 2000. ISBN0-252-02596-2
Vogeley, Nancy, "Italian Opera in Early National Mexico", in Doris Sommer (ed.), The Places of History: Regionalism Revisited in Latin America, Duke University Press, 1999. ISBN0-8223-2344-3
The music of Mexico is highly diverse, featuring a wide range of musical genres and performance styles. It has been influenced by a variety of cultures, primarily deriving from Europeans, Indigenous, and Africans. Music became an expression of Mexican nationalism starting in the nineteenth century.
The Palacio de Bellas Artes is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. This hosts performing arts events, literature events and plastic arts galleries and exhibitions. "Bellas Artes" for short, has been called the "art cathedral of Mexico", and is located on the western side of the historic center of Mexico City which is close to the Alameda Central park.
Farnace is an opera by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, set to a libretto by Antonio Maria Lucchini initially set by Leonardo Vinci during 1724. Vivaldi's setting received its first performance in 1727 at the Teatro Sant'Angelo in Venice. Popular at the time, and revived with great success at the Sporck theater in Prague in 1730, Vivaldi's Farnace slipped into oblivion until the last quarter of the 20th century when it emerged from obscurity.
Juan Soriano was a Mexican artist known for his paintings, sculptures and theater work. He was a child prodigy whose career began early as did his fame with various writers authoring works about him. He exhibited in the United States and Europe as well as major venues in Mexico such as the Museo de Arte Moderno and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. His monumental sculptures can be found in various parts of Mexico and in Europe as well. Recognitions of his work include Mexico's National Art Prize, the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres and membership in France's Legion of Honour.
Merlin is the last of the operas of Isaac Albéniz. It is in three acts, set to a libretto written in English by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer.
Giacomo Facco was an Italian Baroque violinist, conductor and composer. One of the most famous Italian composers of his day, he was completely forgotten until 1962, when his work was discovered by composer, conductor, and musicologist Uberto Zanolli.
Didone is an opera by Francesco Cavalli, set to a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello. The opera was first performed at Venice's Teatro San Cassiano during 1640.
The Visitors is an opera in three acts and a prologue composed by Carlos Chávez to an English-language libretto by the American poet Chester Kallman. The work was Chávez's only opera. Its first version, with the title Panfilo and Lauretta, premiered in New York City in 1957. The final version with the title The Visitors was premiered in Guanajuato City, Mexico, in 1999, twenty years after the composer's death. The story is set in 14th century Tuscany during the time of the Black Death. The libretto uses the device of a play within a play to reflect and intensify the relationships between the protagonists, who in this case are loosely based on characters in The Decameron.
Salón de la Plástica Mexicana is an institution dedicated to the promotion of Mexican contemporary art. It was established in 1949 to expand the Mexican art market. Its first location was in historic center of the city but today it mostly operates out of a building in Colonia Roma. The institution is run by a membership of almost four hundred recognized artists and holds multiple exhibitions each year. Although it operates autonomously, it is part of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura.
The history of opera in Latin America dates back to at least the early 18th century. Newspaper articles suggest that, around the time that Italian opera was introduced to Latin America, it was received with some disdain due to the language barrier. However, translations in the librettos of certain operas suggest that there was greater interest from Latin Americans than the news had credited. Opera arrived in Latin America as a consequence of European colonization. On October 19, 1701, La púrpura de la rosa premiered in Lima in the Viceroyalty of Peru, the first opera known to be composed and performed in the Americas. It is an opera in one act by Spanish composer Tomás de Torrejón y Velasco with a libretto by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, and is the only surviving opera by Torrejón y Velasco. It tells the myth of the love of Venus and Adonis, which provoked Mars's jealousy and his desire for vengeance. Although the libretto follows the Greek myth, the tragic love story is seen as a resemblance of the alliance that was formed from a political marriage between the Spanish and French monarchies. Opera performances were performed also in the country of Mexico. It is within that nation that the first indigenous opera composers of Latin America emerged, with Manuel de Zumaya being considered the first and most important early opera composer. Outside of Perú and Mexico, opera was slower to gain a foothold, and it wasn't until the early to mid-19th century that other nations in Latin America began producing their own opera composers. Many of these 19th-century operas focus on the historical conflict between Europeans and indigenous peoples and were influenced by zarzuela, a form of Spanish opera. Mexican zarzuelas, as well as revistas, soon arose from Spanish influence and gained popularity.
In Venezuela, since the opening of the Teatro Caracas and, earlier, the Teatro Maderero, there has been a great lyrical tradition ranging from serious opera to operetta, zarzuela, and Spanish musical reviews.
Aniceto de los Dolores Luis Gonzaga Ortega del Villar was a Mexican physician, composer, and pianist. Although he had a distinguished career as a physician and surgeon, he is also remembered today for his 1871 opera Guatimotzin, one of the earliest Mexican operas to use a native subject. He is related to the Colonial Administrator and Archbishop of Nueva Espana, who became the Viceroy of Nueva Espana twice over. He became Conde del Peñasco by way of marriage, and was a Conde del Oploca by way of birth, amongst other titles.
Tata Vasco is an opera in five scenes composed by Miguel Bernal Jiménez to a Spanish libretto with nationalistic and devoutly Roman Catholic themes by the Mexican priest and poet, Manuel Muñoz. It premiered in Pátzcuaro, Mexico on 15 February 1941. The opera is based on the life of Vasco de Quiroga, the first Bishop of Michoacán and known to the indigenous Purépecha of the region as 'Tata Vasco'. Considered one of Bernal Jiménez's most emblematic scores, the music incorporates native melodies, dances, and instruments as well as elements of Gregorian chant.
Guatimotzin is an opera in one act and nine scenes composed by Aniceto Ortega del Villar to a libretto in Spanish by José Tomás de Cuéllar. It premiered on 13 September 1871 at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Mexico City. Described as an episodio musical, its plot is based on the defense of Mexico by its last Aztec emperor, Cuauhtémoc. It was one of the earliest Mexican operas to use a native subject.
The Great National Theatre of Mexico was a large opera house in Mexico City.
Luigi Mosca was Italian composer of operas and sacred music and a noted singing teacher. He composed eighteen operas, most of which were originally for theatres in Naples, but played throughout Italy in their day.
Guadalupe Pineda Aguilar is a Mexican singer considered one of Mexico's grassroots musical icons. She is a recipient of the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a multi-Latin Grammy nominee, she has released more than 30 albums during her career covering various styles of music with sales over 14 million copies worldwide. In 1984, she recorded her breakthrough hit "Yolanda", also known as "Te Amo", composed by Pablo Milanes, selling more than 1.5 million copies. She primarily sings in Spanish, but has also sung in French, Italian, English, and Hebrew. She has been called the “Queen of Bolero”, but has also sung ballads, mariachi, tango, ranchera, and opera. Pineda has performed all over México, Latin America, and Spain, as well as in Europe and North America.
Grupo de los Cuatro is the name adopted by a group of four young Mexican composers in 1935, who organized together with the aim of propagating new music, particularly their own.
Antonio Peláez (1921–1994) was a Mexican artist of Spanish origin, who began his career in portraits but in the 1950s shifted to abstract art, concerned with texture, color and the use of space. His work was recognized by a retrospective at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, membership in the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana and a tribute by the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana after his death.
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