FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Evan Calbi at (213) 740-3229 calbi@thornton.usc.edu

A Fusion of Flamenco and Opera

The USC Thornton Opera Program presents Osvaldo Golijov’s challenging, flamenco-inspired contemporary opera, “Ainadamar”

Osvaldo Golijov’s contemporary opera Ainadamar (Arabic for “Fountain of Tears”) imagines the final hours of Federico García Lorca’s life through the eyes of his friend, the Catalan actress Margarita Xirgu. Lorca, the famed poet and playwright, was murdered in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. This November, the USC Thornton Opera will bring the tale of passion and intrigue to the stage for three performances.

“It is a wonderful piece: musically thrilling and diverse, theatrically very exciting and tight.” said resident stage director Ken Cazan, chair of the Vocal Arts & Opera program.

Ainadamar features a Spanish-language libretto by playwright David Henry Hwang and a flamenco-inspired score. For this ambitious production, the USC Thornton Symphony will be joined in the pit by flamenco guitarist and Thornton faculty member Adam del Monte.

The opera, which premiered in its current version in 2005, originally featured several USC Thornton alumni, including mezzo-soprano Kelley O'Connor (’02) and soprano Jessica Rivera (MM ’98) in leading roles. Flamenco guitarist del Monte was also featured in the 2005 production and subsequent recording, as was Classical Guitar faculty member William Kanengiser.

Given the challenges of the Spanish-language libretto, a rarity in the opera world, the program has engaged top artistic talent to work with student musicians, including soprano Dawn Upshaw, who originated the role of Margarita Xirgu, and soprano and diction coach, Jennifer Ringo.

“Not only is Jennifer a premiere opera diction coach, she is a friend of the composer so she was able to ask him directly for guidance on how she should approach coaching our students,” said music director Brent McMunn.

Page 2 of 2 One of the highly-anticipated aspects of the production will be flamenco-inspired choreography by Achinta McDaniel, a faculty member of the new USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. “The young artists have responded warmly to her,” said Cazan. “They’re learning invaluable tools regarding movement potential, their cores, their grounding, and their singing in relation to a more extreme form of movement.”

The production will also require sophisticated sound design to balance traditional opera orchestration with flamenco acoustics. While the singer’s voices will be amplified for the production, the experience offers students a rare opportunity to practice their operatic “mic technique.”

In spite of the artistic and logistical challenges of presenting the opera, McMunn and Cazan are very eager to stage Ainadamar. “We’re always sensitive to picking repertoire that matches the capabilities of the students we have in the program,” said McMunn. “We’ve been talking about doing Ainadamar for 10 years. And now we have the students to do it.”

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USC Thornton Opera presents Ainadamar WHEN: Wednesday, November 16, 8:00 pm Friday, November 18, 8:00 pm (pre-show discussion at 7 pm) Sunday, November 20, 2:00 pm WHERE: Bing Theatre, 3500 Watt Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089 ADMISSION: Free for USC students, staff, and faculty with ID. General public, $18. Seniors, alumni, and non-USC students, $12. For tickets call (213) 740-4672 or visit http://www.usc.edu/tickets.

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About the USC Thornton School of Music

For more than 125 years, the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music has prepared students to excel as performers, composers, industry leaders and educators on stages and in studios around the world. Founded in 1884 and today the oldest continually operating cultural institution in Los Angeles, USC Thornton is internationally recognized as one of the finest conservatories and music schools in the U.S. By blending the rigors of a traditional conservatory-style education with the benefits of a leading research university, USC Thornton offers a curriculum designed to prepare students for successful careers in the 21st century.