Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 4 Florencia en el Amazonas

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 35 Director’s note Florencia en el Amazonas is a work I am thrilled to present for so many reasons. It is an honor to introduce you to the work of the late contemporary Mexican composer Daniel Catán, as well as a story based on the important literary ideas of Gabriel García Márquez. The production, sung in Spanish, offers a lush visual world evoking the Amazon with stunning projections and evocative choreography. The opera features the great Puerto Rican-American diva Ana María Martínez led by conductor Jordan de Souza in his Lyirc debut. From the 1980s into the early 21st century, some three million Colombians were displaced by political and drug-related violence. It was during this period—in the 1990s—that I went to Colombia with composer Daniel Catán and librettist Marcela Fuentes-Berain to visit Gabriel García Márquez with the intention of putting together a new opera inspired by his works. We flew to his walled compound deep in the jungle near Cartagena in an open helicopter with protection from guards armed with machine guns. We landed on a helipad near his compound and traveled through the underbrush in a Jeep with our protectors. If that was not enough of a thrill in and of itself, my subsequent meeting and work with Márquez is a memory for life. The essence of his very being was like the magical realism that spilled onto the pages of his novels. He helped our team to plan and create the libretto, which was executed by his student, Marcela Fuentes-Berain, and to capture the sound world of Daniel’s music. After our time in his compound, we went on to visit the Colombian state of Amazonas, where the river begins, to experience its spirit and try to capture it for the stage. Once we checked into the aptly named Hotel Anaconda, we went trekking through the jungle and then onto a riverboat. Our guide thought it was necessary that we see a real anaconda as we were hiking. Once is enough in my lifetime! After our fantastical visit, we premiered Florencia en el Amazonas in 1996 in Houston, and the production transferred to other opera houses in North and Latin America. The opera has been a great success thanks to the musical and dramatic spell it casts on audiences. Now, in collaboration with our designers, we have created a brand-new production for Lyric to bring the opera into a fresh visual world. I am thrilled that today you have the chance to hear a very different kind of American composer writing in Spanish, the second-most spoken language in our country. I hope you enjoy this opera that is so close to my heart. –Francesca Zambello