6-7:30 pm
Tuesdays, January 21, 28, and February 4
Join us for our second year of “Inside Opera”—a workshop series presented by the NHCC in partnership with Opera Southwest. This year the opera is “Il Postino” and each workshop will focus on a different element of the performance (see below). Those who attend any one of the three workshops will receive a 15% discounted ticket to the show. Sign up for the workshops here: https://nhccnm.wufoo.com/forms/inside-opera-workshop-series-il-postino/
Inside Opera: The Three Versions of Il Postino
Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020
Salon Ortega
6 – 7:30 pm
Free
Opera newcomers and aficionados are invited to three, free, interactive presentations (January 21, 28 and February 4) about Il Postino, Daniel Catán’s beautiful opera about poetry, love, and the special friendship that develops between Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and Mario, the young man who brings him his mail on an island off the coast of Italy. Il Postino will be presented by Opera Southwest in the Journal Theater at the NHCC on February 2, 7 and 9, 2020.
On January 21, join poet Valerie Martinez for an in-depth discussion of the story of Il Postino and how it developed on its journey from the printed page to the big screen to the opera stage. Daniel Catán’s opera was inspired by the novel Ardiente Paciencia (Burning Patience), by Antonio Skarmeta, and the Academy Award-nominated film adaptation, Il Postino, directed by Michael Radford. Register here.
Valerie Martínez is the Director of History and Literary Arts at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Valerie spent 23 years as a professor of literature at the college and university level, and was Santa Fe’s second Poet Laureate. As a core artist and Executive Director of Littleglobe, Valerie worked in collaboration with the Santa Fe Opera to create two community-based operas: Memorylines: Voces de Nuestras Jornadas (2008), and The Santa Fe Bus Opera (2010). Valerie joins the Inside Opera series as presenter for the second year.
Inside Opera: The Music of Il Postino
Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020
Salon Ortega
6 – 7:30 pm
Free
Opera newcomers and aficionados are invited to three, free, interactive presentations (January 21, 28 and February 4) about Il Postino, Daniel Catán’s beautiful opera about poetry, love, and the special friendship that develops between Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and Mario, the young man who brings him his mail on an island off the coast of Italy. Il Postino will be presented by Opera Southwest in the Journal Theater at the NHCC Center on February 2, 7 and 9, 2020.
On January 28, conductor and educator Oliver Prezant will introduce you to the music of Il Postino. We’ll explore the way the composer uses melodic shape, harmony, and rhythm to define characters and situations, and we’ll take a detailed look at how music adds meaning and expression to the text. Register here.
Oliver Prezant has presented lectures and education programs for The Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Opera Southwest, and Chamber Music Albuquerque, and has presented programs on art and music for museums including The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. He is the Music Director and Conductor of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra, and the Artistic Advisor to the ArtWorks Program, which provides arts education workshops for Santa Fe Public Schools students and teachers. Oliver was on the faculty of the Contemporary Music Program at Santa Fe University of Art and Design and The College of Santa Fe.
Inside Opera: Bringing Il Postino to Life
Tuesday, Feb 4, 2020
Salon Ortega
6 – 7:30 pm
Free
Opera newcomers and aficionados are invited to three, free, interactive presentations (January 21, 28 and February 4) about Il Postino, Daniel Catán’s beautiful opera about poetry, love, and the special friendship that develops between Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and Mario, the young man who brings him his mail on an island off the coast of Italy. Il Postino will be presented by Opera Southwest in the Journal Theater at the NHCC on February 2, 7 and 9, 2020.
On February 4, Oliver Prezant and special guests will lead you on a magical journey through the creative process of bringing the Opera Southwest production of Il Postino to life. We’ll see the set on stage as well as costumes and props, in the Journal Theater. We’ll also meet some of the people who have created the world of this enchanting opera experience. A very special opportunity to see what life is like on the other side of the footlights! Register here.
Oliver Prezant has presented lectures and education programs for The Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Opera Southwest, and Chamber Music Albuquerque, and has presented programs on art and music for museums including The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. He is the Music Director and Conductor of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra, and the Artistic Advisor to the ArtWorks Program, which provides arts education workshops for Santa Fe Public Schools students and teachers. Oliver was on the faculty of the Contemporary Music Program at Santa Fe University of Art and Design and The College of Santa Fe.
ABOUT THE OPERA
From the Opera Southwest website: “When exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda arrives on a tiny Italian island, he receives so much fan mail that Mario is hired as his personal postman. Mario soon becomes Neruda’s student, learning the art of poetry to woo a local barmaid. Inspired by Neruda, Mario’s poetic voice continues to take wing as he expresses the struggles of his fellow working-class villagers. A firm friendship develops, and the postman is forever a changed man. The sounds of the Mediterranean come alive in Catán’s stunningly beautiful, Puccini-esque score – a story of love in its many forms, set against a backdrop of conflicting political and spiritual ideologies. Based on the novel “Ardiente Paciencia” by Antonio Skármeta and the film by Michael Radford. Sung in Spanish with English supertitles.”