El Conquistador (opera)

Mexican-American composer Nathan Felix will present his new opera titled El Conquistador as part of the Carver’s Intimate Series (226 N Hackberry St) on Saturday March 2nd at 8 pm. El Conquistador, a 75-minute opera will explore the early life of Cortés, his conquest of Tenochtitlan and how that has affected modern day Mexico. The opera will feature Thomas Soto (tenor) as Hernán Cortés, Celeste Morales (soprano) as La Malinche, Lee Farrar Bailey (baritone) as Moctezuma, Kim Sandoval (mezzo) as Catalina Suarez Marcayda and Emily Anderson (mezzo) as Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. El Conquistador will occur as an immersive production at the Little Carver Theatre. Felix is known for his guerilla-style approach in presenting classical music in unconventional spaces and The Conquistador is no exception, with a performance utilizing space, movement, and acoustics to activate the Little Carver Theatre in a unique way. The idea behind Felix’s immersive opera is similar to a flash mob as it revolves around blurring the line between performer and audience by having musical performers move amongst the audience as they perform a cohesive musical composition. The audience is encouraged to follow the narrative of the piece which entails following the soloists but they are ultimately given agency to explore based on feeling, sight and soundscape. The Conquistador is a one act 75-minute opera, sung in Spanish, that not only follows the life of Cortés but has a secondary narrative surrounding the life and impact of La Malinche.. La Malinche was an enslaved Indigenous girl who became Hernán Cortés’ interpreter and cultural translator. Malinche stood center stage in one of the most significant events of modern history. She was linguistically gifted and played a key role in the transactions, negotiations, and conflicts between the Spanish and the Indigenous populations of Mexico that impacted the course of global politics for centuries to come. Significantly, as mother to Cortés’ first-born son she became the symbolic progenitor of a modern Mexican nation, built on both Indigenous and Spanish heritage. Other featured musicians include conductor Nieves Villasenor, violinist Jose Irizarry, violist Ptotia Furlow, cellist Stephen Young and choral singers Steph Huskin, Laura Grindle, Kelly Vix-Miller and Christiana Davis.

Event Links

Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2168772-0

Website: https://go.evvnt.com/2168772-2

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