Opera in Venezuela

Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, where Venezuelan operas are typically performed today.

Opera buffa Los Martirios de Colón in the Municipal Theatre of Caracas, 2013

In Venezuela, since the opening of the Teatro Caracas and, earlier, the Teatro Maderero (then called Teatro de la Zarzuela), there whas been a great lyrical tradition ranging from serious opera to operetta, zarzuela, and Spanish musical reviews.

The first Venezuelan opera was El maestro Rufo Zapatero an opera buffa composed in 1848 by José María Osorio.^[1] Virginia by José Ángel Montero (sometimes incorrectly called the first Venezuelan opera) debuted in 1877, under the auspices of Antonio Guzmán Blanco. Another major early Venezuelan opera composer was Reynaldo Hahn, who was greatly influenced by his teacher Jules Massenet. He greatly expanded the genre of French operetta, of which Ciboulette was his most famous work; he also composed operas as Le Merchand de Venise.^[2]

Before the foregoing had occurred, José María Osorio had composed early zarzuelas. The first Venezuelan zarzuela to debut, however, was José Ángel Montero's Los alemanes en Italia, in the 1860s. Montero also debuted the zarzuelas El Cumpleaños de Leonor, El Charlatán Mudo, La Modista, and many others. Another major zarzuela composer was Pedro Elías Gutiérrez, who used Venezuelan rhythms in his works. His most important work was perhaps Alma Llanera, with lyrics by Rafael Bolívar Coronado.

In the 20th century, Caracas had a rich cultural tradition. Teatro Maderero, Teatro Caracas, and the more modern Teatro Nacional de Caracas and Teatro Municipal de Caracas competed for the public's attention. The Teatro Maderero and Teatro Caracas, after the construction of the latter two, played a secondary role and were nearly always used for popular musical acts, such as reviews and fandango. The Teatro Nacional was the theater for the country's finest zarzuela, while the Municipal typically staged Italian, German and French works, which were more serious. Today Venezuelan operas are typically held in the Teatro Teresa Carreño.

In contemporary Venezuela, there are great lyrical composers, including María Luisa Escobar, whose works include Kanaime, Orquídeas Azules, and Princesa Girasol. Other important composers include Hector Pellegatti (author of the verismo opera El Negro Miguel with lyrics by Pedro Blanco Vilariño),^[3] Alexis Rago (author of El Páramo, Miranda, and Froilán el Infausto),^[4] Eric Colon (author of El Caballero de Ledesma) and Federico Ruíz (author of the famous opera buffa Los Martirios de Colón, with a libretto by Aquiles Nazoa)^[5], Gerardo Gerulewicz (author of Gertrudis, with a libretto by Xiomara Moreno).

Venezuelan-American composer Sylvia Constantinidis has written both, music and libretto for several lyrical works: -Three children operas Lincoln, Ponce de Leon, and The First Thanks Giving; all premiered in Florida, USA (For these works Constantinidis received the "Educator of Note Award 2003" by the “Ethel and W. George Kennedy Family Foundation”, and the Young Patronesses of the Opera, the Florida Grand Opera)^[6], Aurora, an experimental short-opera, premiered in Sherborne, England 2011, and Afrodita, a dramatic contemporary opera, premiered in concert in England and USA.

Venezuelan lyric singers

The sopranos Fedora Alemán, Cecilia Nuñez, Flor García, Violeta Alemán, Reyna Calanche, Leila Mastrocola, Hilda Breer, Beatriz Michelena, Carmen Hurtado, Inés Salazar, Margot Pares-Reyna, Rosita del Castillo, Rosa Savoini and Lola Linares, mezzosopranos Morella Muñoz, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Teresa Carreño, Mariela Valladares, and Aida Navarro, contralt Isabel Palacios, the tenors Fernando Michelena, Alfredo Sadel, Carlos Almenar Otero, Aquiles Machado, Nico Castel, Ruben Dominguez, Ruben Malnez, Idwer Alvarez, Manuel Pérez, David Hidalgo, Eduardo Melgar, Sergio Duran, Julio Felce, Ugo Corsetti and Blas Martínez, baritons Ramón Iriarte, William Alvarado, Sergio Daniele, Gaspar Colón Moleiro and Cayito Aponte, and bass Daniel Bendahan, Claudio Muskus, Pedro Liendo, Julio César Mármol, Yunis Sujur and Carlos Maury.

Venezuelan conductors

Angel Sauce, Gustavo Dudamel, Primo Casale, Angelo Pagliucca, Alfredo Rugeles, Eduardo Marturet, Carlos Mendoza, Eduardo Rahn, Carlos Riazuelo, Cesar Ivan Lara, Rodolfo Saglimbeni, Teresa Carreño, Diego Matheuz, Felipe Izcaray.

See also

• Opera in Latin America

References