Florencia en el Amazonas
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Act 1
The title character, Florencia Grimaldi, is a famous opera soprano returning to her homeland to sing at the opera house in Manaus with the hope that her performance will attract her lover Cristóbal, a butterfly hunter who has disappeared into the jungle. She boards the steamboat El Dorado for a trip down the Amazon River, along with several passengers who are traveling to hear her sing. The passengers, however, are unaware of her identity. One of them, Rosalba, is a journalist planning to write a book about Grimaldi and hoping to interview her. In preparation, Rosalba has compiled a notebook for two years with information about the diva.
Florencia spends her time on the boat brooding about Cristóbal. She does not interact much with the other passengers initially, and the thread connecting the subplots in the story is provided by the ship's mate, Ríolobo, who also is the focus for the elements of magical realism. Ríolobo functions as a narrator, one of the characters, and the intermediary between reality and the mystical world of the river.
Meanwhile, Rosalba is beginning to fall in love with the steamboat captain's nephew, Arcadio, who rescues her notebook when it falls overboard. The two play a game of cards with Paula and Álvaro, a bickering couple who are also looking forward to Grimaldi's performance. After the game, a storm develops and Álvaro saves the boat but is thrown overboard. With the captain knocked unconscious and Ríolobo having disappeared, Arcadio takes the helm but the ship runs aground. Ríolobo reappears in the form of a river spirit and the storm stops after he calls upon the river gods.
Act 2
The characters recover from the storm. Florencia seems to feel Cristóbal's presence and is unsure whether she is alive or dead. Rosalba, focused on her objective, resists the attraction she and Arcadio feel for each other. Meanwhile, Paula, in spite of their constant fighting, recognizes that she still loves Álvaro and mourns his loss. Again Ríolobo appeals to the river and Álvaro is suddenly returned to the ship.
In the storm, Rosalba's precious notebook has been lost again, and when it is recovered again it has been ruined by the water. Distraught, Rosalba argues with Florencia about the meaning and value of its contents when suddenly she discovers that the woman she has been arguing with is the very singer she has been longing to interview. Realizing how Florencia draws inspiration from love, Rosalba decides to give in to her feelings for Arcadio.
The boat arrives in Manaus, but a cholera outbreak keeps the passengers quarantined aboard the ship. Florencia despairs of a reunion with Cristóbal, but in the end she is magically transformed into a butterfly, to represent her spirit going off to be reunited with her lover.
Looking for love in all of the wrong places.
Inspired by the magical realism of celebrated author Gabriel García Márquez, Florencia en el Amazonas is a journey through the physical and mystical worlds of love, desire and the mighty Amazon River. Florencia Grimaldi is travelling through the enchanted rainforest and hopes to find her long lost lover, a butterfly hunter who disappeared in the jungle many years ago. Wracked by storms and a cholera outbreak, she and her fellow passengers are drawn deeper into the Amazon where fantasy and reality intertwine and their hopes and dreams are tested. Written by the late Mexican composer Daniel Catán, Florencia en el Amazonas was the first-ever Spanish-language opera commissioned in the U.S. and has become a smash sensation around the globe ever since its premiere.
Inspirado por el realismo mágico del célebre autor Gabriel García Márquez, Florencia en el Amazonas es un viaje a través del poderoso río Amazonas, el deseo y los mundos físicos y místicos del amor. Florencia Grimaldi viaja a través de la selva encantada y espera encontrar a su amante perdido, un cazador de mariposas que desapareció en la selva hace muchos años. Agobiada por las tormentas y un brote de cólera, ella y sus compañeros de viaje se sumergen profundamente en el Amazonas, donde la fantasía y realidad se entrelazan y sus esperanzas y sueños se ponen a prueba. Escrito por el fallecido compositor mexicano Daniel Catán, Florencia en el Amazonas fue la primera ópera en español difundida en Estados Unidos y desde su estreno se convirtió en una gran sensación alrededor del mundo
[2]Sung in Spanish with English supertitles.
Running time: 2 hours and 10 minutes including one 30 minute intermission.
FLORENCIA EN EL AMAZONAS
Composed by Daniel Catán
Libretto by Marcela Fuentes-Berain