Washington National Opera to Open 2014-15 Season with ‘Florencia in the Amazon,’ Inspired by Writings of Gabriel García Márquez

Washington National Opera has chosen an unusual American opera as their season opener at the Kennedy Center on September 20: Florencia in the Amazon, by Mexican-American composer Daniel Catán.

Soprano Christine Goerke will portray Florencia Grimaldi, a world-famous diva who is returning to her homeland of Brazil for a performance after an absence of 20 years. She takes an enchanted riverboat journey through the Amazon, hoping to find her long-lost lover, a butterfly hunter who has disappeared into the jungle.

The tale is inspired by the magic realism of Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez. Beset by storms and a cholera outbreak, Florencia and her fellow travelers are carried deeper into the rain forest, where the perilous forces of love, magic and nature converge.

WNO will present this Spanish-language opera, with a libretto by Marcela Fuentes-Berain, on September 20-28 at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Goerke will portray Florencia at most performances; Melody Moore will sing Florencia on September 24.

The cast also includes Norman Garrett as the mystical river creature Ríolobo; soprano Andrea Carroll in her WNO debut as the journalist Rosalba, who hopes to write a book about Florencia; and bass-baritone David Pittsinger as the captain of the riverboat "El Dorado."

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