Contralto Nicole Piccolomini, a recent graduate of Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts and The Juilliard School, plays Maria; bass-baritone Ricardo Herrera takes the various sung male roles, referred to collectively in the score as "Porteê±o" (which means someone from Buenos Aires). In one of many allegorical elements in the work, the narrator is called "El Duende," the Spanish term for powerful artistic inspiration; the role is played here by Diego Arciniegas, the artistic director of Boston Publick Theater. Gotham Chamber Opera artistic director Neal Goren conducts.
Mar‹a de Buenos Aires, runs tonight, Friday and Saturday (September 28 and 29) at New York University's Skirball Center on Washington Square South in Manhattan. Tickets and information are available at www.gothamchamberopera.org.
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All photos by Richard Termine.
