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Patrick Summers
Artistic & Music Director
Margaret Alkek Williams Chair
Perryn Leech
Managing Director
World’s First Mariachi Opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, returns to HGO After Success in Paris
Opera Featuring World-Famous Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán
Garners International Acclaim
Houston, TX December 5, 2012: Following triumphant performances in Paris at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Houston
Grand Opera welcomes home Cruzar la Cara de la Luna / To Cross the Face of the Moon for four performances March
21–24, 2013, at the Wortham Theater Center. Tickets for Cruzar are on sale.
This dynamic, inspirational work captures the emotional and spiritual connection to one’s country of origin and
the challenges of being a stranger in a new land, reflecting the nature of the immigrant experience. The opera was
composed by José “Pepe” Martínez (music director of Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán). Martínez also co-wrote the
lyrics with Broadway director and author Leonard Foglia, who wrote the book and directed the piece. Mariachi
Vargas de Tecalitlán enjoys an international reputation as the best mariachi band in the world. Cruzar is a fusion
of the traditions of mariachi songs and opera, both of which speak through music about love and loss, family and
country.
“We’re anxious to bring Cruzar home to Houston this spring. The reaction of the Paris audience is a testament to the
universal themes of the story; the nature of family, ties to our roots, and how we define ‘home.’ Cruzar is a moving
exploration of emotions that crosses languages and borders, and is both touching and entertaining,” said Perryn
Leech, managing director of HGO.
Cruzar tells the story of a family divided and defined by the border they have crossed and re-crossed over several
generations. Laurentino, an octogenarian Mexican laborer, lies dying in his Houston home, surrounded by his
current family, but remembering and longing for the family he left behind and lost many years before. The memory
of his beloved wife, Renata, who died in an attempt to cross the border, fills his mind, and the opera proceeds in
fluid shifts between past and present, English and Spanish, Mexico and Texas, as Laurentino’s families and memories
come together in a rich, vibrant mariachi score. Reviewing the opera’s Paris premiere (September 2011), Classical TV
Paris reported, “At the end of this moving work, Théâtre du Châtelet shook with applause. You could hear weeping,
but most of all you heard shouts of joy at the discovery of something wonderful and fresh.”
Commissioned by Houston Grand Opera as part of the Song of Houston: Mexico 2010 project, which celebrated the
anniversaries of Mexican revolution and independence, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna sets a new benchmark in operatic
storytelling. Integrating real-life stories with the magical and amazing migration of the Monarch butterfly, Cruzar la
Cara de la Luna explores the migration of a Mexican family and their journey to the United States, highlighting their
sacrifice and loss.
Performance Details:
Dates: March 21, 23, 24, 2013
Times: March 21 at 7:30 p.m.; March 23 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; March 24 at 2 p.m.
Venue:Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Avenue, Houston.
Ticketing & Information: 713-228-6737 / HoustonGrandOpera.org
Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte is a native of Chihuahua, Mexico, and made her solo debut at HGO as Renata in
To Cross the Face of the Moon. She has been a member of Houston Grand Opera’s touring company Opera to Go!
since 2007. She also performs Storybook Opera in Spanish throughout the Houston area. Her musical career began
in Mexico, where she performed in many musical theater productions, creating roles in numerous world premieres
both written and directed by composer Alberto Espino.
Baritone Octavio Moreno, a Houston Grand Opera Studio alumnus, has performed with HGO in The Queen of
Spades, The Elixir of Love, and Rigoletto in recent seasons. Originally from Mexico, Mr. Moreno won third place
in the 2008 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers and sang on behalf of Mexico in the 2009 BBC
Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.
Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán was founded in 1898 by Gaspar Vargas in Tecalitlán, Jalisco, Mariachi Vargas de
Tecalitlán is considered to be the most important and influential group in the history of mariachi music, playing
an integral role in the evolution of the genre. In the 1930s, its leadership was taken over by Silvestre Vargas, son of
Gaspar; he and Ruben Fuentes, the first trained musician ever to direct the ensemble, led Mariachi Vargas into the
modern era of films, recordings, and broadcasts. Among the prominent musicians who have worked with Mariachi
Vargas in the ensuing decades were Pedro Infante, Miguel Aceves Mejia, Lola Beltrán, and José Alfredo Jimenez.
Mariachi Vargas has toured the world and shared its music with people of all cultures on more than 800 recordings.
Media Inquiries:
Houston Grand Opera
MEDIA INQUIRIES: Ali Vise, 713-524-0661, [email protected]
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Grand Underwriters
Bobbie-Vee and Jerry Cooney
Mr. and Mrs. Harlan C. Stai,
Terrell Tone Owen Memorial
Endowed Donor Advised Fund
at the Community Foundation
of Abilene
Official Airline of Houston Grand Opera
Official Health Care Provider for Houston Grand Opera
Since its inception in 1955, Houston Grand Opera has grown from a small regional organization into an
internationally renowned opera company. HGO enjoys a reputation for commissioning and producing new works,
including forty-eight world premieres and six American premieres since 1973. In addition to producing and
performing world-class opera, HGO contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a
diverse and innovative program of performances, community events, and education projects that reaches the widest
possible public. HGO has toured extensively, including trips to Europe and Asia, and it is the only opera company
to have won a Tony, two Grammy awards, and two Emmy awards. HGO’s performances are broadcast nationally
and internationally over the WFMT Radio Network, New York City’s WQXR, the European Broadcasting Union
and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Through HGOco, Houston Grand Opera creates opportunities for Houstonians of all ages and backgrounds
to observe, participate in and create art. Its Song of Houston project is an ongoing initiative to create and share
work based on stories that define the unique character of our city and its diverse cultures. Since 2007, HGOco
has commissioned thirteen new works along with countless innovative community projects, reaching more than
900,000 people in the greater Houston metropolitan area.
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