Acclaimed mariachi opera to open season

Opera San Antonio will kick off its 10th season this fall with a mariachi opera.

“Cruzar la Cara de la Luna” (“To Cross the Face of the Moon”) has been billed as the world’s first mariachi opera. It tells the story of a migrant family divided by the border between the United States and Mexico.

“As we enter our 10-year anniversary, we wanted to be able to show what we think the future of opera can be and also honor its history,” said E. Loren Meeker, general and artistic director for the company. “The mariachi opera seems like a perfect way to blend those concerns together and present something really special for our community.”

The opera, which has been produced around the world, was commissioned by Houston Grand Opera in 2010. The original creative team and many of the original cast members will be participating in the Opera San Antonio staging. That includes director Leonard Foglia, who also wrote the libretto. José “Pepe” Martinez wrote the music and lyrics.

Mariachi Campanas de America will be featured in the production.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be collaborating with Mariachi Campanas de America and showing how the musical world of mariachi, which is so deeply rooted in our city’s culture, can also blend with the deep and long roots of opera,” Meeker said.

The opera is slated Oct. 3 and 5.

The two-opera season then wraps up with Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.” for

The production of Puccini’s classic tale of unrequited love is a collaboration with Austin Opera. It will debut April 17 and 19, 2025, and then will be presented in Austin April 25-27, 2025.

The companies have worked on smaller projects together through the Texas Opera Alliance, Meeker said, but this will the first time they have collaborated on something of this scale.

The companies will be working with cultural advisers and movement directors Kevin and Momo Suzuki to make sure the piece is staged with cultural sensitivity.

Both Opera San Antonio productions will be presented in the H-E-B Performance Hall of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

Season ticket are on sale now at tobincenter.org. Single tickets go on sale June 1.