FLORENCIA to be Held at AMA, 9/18

Florencia
A social outing by the Washington National Opera Bravo! Club
Thursday, September 18 6:30-8:30pm
Tickets $35 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bravo-at-ama-tickets-10349358209

AMA | ART MUSEUM of the AMERICAS
ORGANIZATION of AMERICAN STATES
201 18th St, NW, Washington, DC 20006

Florencia at AMA | Art Museum of the Americas will be an intimate operatic social outing by the Washington National Opera's Bravo! Club. The event is a prelude to the Kennedy Center performance of Mexican Daniel Catán's Florencia en el Amazonas, and features vocalists Patrick O'Halloran and Kerriann Otano. The operacontains elements of magical realism in the style of Gabriel García Márquez as well as characters inspired by him and uses a libretto by Marcela Fuentes-Berain, one of García Márquez's pupils.

The composer:
Daniel Catán (April 3, 1949 - April 8, 2011) was known particularly for his operas and his creative friendship with the tenor Plácido Domingo. He was born in Mexico City, and studied philosophy at the University of Sussex and music at the University of Southamptonand received a Ph.D. from Princeton. Catán was the first Mexican composer to have an opera produced in the United States, whenSan Diego Opera produced Rappaccini's Daughter in March 1994. He has also composed orchestral and chamber works and film music. His style can be described as neo-impressionist.

The performers:
Patrick O'Halloran is a versatile performer, with a lyric tenor "agile enough for Rossini, but also with sufficient heft for Donizetti and Bellini" - OperaToday. Most recently, he was seen performing the role of Edoardo in Verdi's Un giorno di regno in his Glimmerglass Opera debut which Opera Warhorses cited as "the arrival of an important new lyric tenor."

Hailed as a "powerhouse" with "major vocal goods and a feisty personality to match," young American soprano Kerriann Otaño joined the roster of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at WNO in the fall of 2014. She was seen this summer at the prestigious Glimmerglass Festival covering soprano lead Roberta Alden in Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy and performed in concert alongside dramatic soprano Christine Goerke.

This Bravo! Club - AMA event, which takes place during the National Hispanic Heritage Month, provides a unique opportunity to celebrate Latin America's contribution to the operatic art form and to tour the museum's current exhibitions.

The Bravo! Club was founded in 2012 by a group of passionate patrons in partnership with the Washington National Opera. After a successful first season, the WNO officially incorporated Bravo! in 2014. Bravo!'s mission is to grow the next generation of opera patrons by creating a community of young professionals dedicated to supporting the WNO and its Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

Florencia at AMA continues the museum's long-running tradition of presenting the arts and music of OAS member countries. Music has also been instrumental to AMA's outreach programs as was the case of AMA's Orchestra Program for Youth at Risk in the Caribbean that was implemented in Haiti, Jamaica and Saint Lucia (AMAmuseum.org/oasis) via a systematic orchestral and choral training.

The Organization of American States and its Member States are committed to encourage social development programs with a strong cultural component as a foundation for democracy, social justice, and progress.

Located inside our historic museum building steps from the National Mall, this unique outdoor-indoor event will feature wine, beverages, and light bites inspired by the exotic flavors of Latin America.