Martinez
Opera
Sponsorship Program
“La Novella Carmen”
A MULTICULTURAL PROJECT”
Martinez California, a city rich in history, represents all cultural influences
and particularly is proud of its Hispanic heritage. In 1824 Don Ygnacio
Martinez was awarded 17,000 acres of land in the Alhambra Valley by the
Mexican Government for his services rendered to the Royal Spanish and
Mexican Armies. It was several years later that Col. William M. Smith
who married one of Don Ygnacio Martinez’s daughters, that 120 acres
was delegated to build the town of Martinez that included the ferry landing.
Martinez would become the first town in the Contra Costa District.
In 1889 Professor Walter Bartlett arrived in Martinez from Boston to produce
Opera. The success of this opera company was shared by all who came from
all over the county to sing, perform or listen. In fact for a time Martinez
held the record for putting on the greatest number of operas in the United
States in one year. The classical arts thrived in this city and its history
will continue with the resurrection of the newly formed Martinez Opera
known as MTZO.
MTZO was formed in 2002 and marks the day proudly as
the year of reestablishing the Classical Arts in the City of Martinez
that has been dormant since 1927. MTZO is a community
based Opera company dedicated to outreach to the community by offering
concerts to organizations and events free of charge, forming the first
Youth Orchestra, Youth chorus and Adult Chorus, outreaching to early child
day care centers and teaching Opera appreciation to the community.
In 2004 MTZO will produce the first Spanish translated
“Carmen” by Bizet, translated by Curzi and Hernandez. The
intent of the Opera company is to explore a” virgin territory”
by breaking performance tradition of this Opera. Carmen will be performed
in the temperament of the Hispanic culture by presenting the real Spain,
keep in mind the true culture of the day, the roles of men and women,
religion, politics social equity and family life. MTZO
also plans to present the Spanish viable language in the Opera world.
This production will promote collaborations between existing classical
arts groups and MTZO. MTZO will also
train and coach children, teens and adults of all ethnicity in the chorus
of over 80 singers for this production. Through coaching and peer collaboration,
members of the chorus will be exposed to individuals who only speak Spanish,
are bilingual, or speak no Spanish at all. In addition MTZO
will employ individuals with fluency in Spanish as well as individuals
who are not, in artistic and production positions.
This production will be presented during Hispanic Heritage Month September
15th to October 15th. The event will mark a cross-cultural as well as
multicultural experience to all those who attend and participate. This
production will be performed outdoors in an amphitheater and presented
as “La Novella Carmen.” With a wider audience to present to
“La Novella Carmen” can expect attendance of the production
to way exceed that of a normal operatic production.
In addition to this momentous occasion the Hispanic community will be
able to identify with the classical arts, not traditionally part of the
culture in Mexico and South America. Spain on the other hand, rich in
classical arts, has been the subject of many composers opera’s such
as Glinka, Verdi, Rossini, Wolf, Debussy, Bizet and others. The Spanish
language at the height of Opera was not a respected language, therefore
a Spanish composer such as Manuel, De Falla, had to take his work to France
have it rewritten in French and performed before it would receive recognition.
MTZO will break that tradition by presenting Opera in
a language that should have been accepted long ago, Spanish.
We at MTZO feel confidant that such an endeavor, as this
production of “La Novella Carmen” will prove to be exceedingly
successful. We invite you to be part of a Cultural experience that will
receive, not only national acclaim, but will bring together ethnic groups
to embrace the Classical Arts. As a sponsor
you will be supporting an effort to expand the Classical Arts as well
as celebrate the Hispanic Heritage and be part of an important merging
of communities.
MTZO
925-372-6617
www.mtzo.com
P.O. Box 643, Martinez CA 94553