The electronically produced high-pitched screeches Sosa orchestrates serve as a dictator of Beltran’s madness and gives us the feeling that her cold prison cell bars are not only screaming, but bending and twisting their way towards her”.
Review of "La Reina"
La Reina (2016) Opera commissioned by American Lyric Theater, Music by Jorge Sosa, libretto by Laura Sosa.
Cast:
Regina, Mezzo-soprano, La Santa Muerte, soprano, Young Regina, soprano, El Gringo,Baritone, El Pozolero, tenor, Don Neto, bass, Gobernador, tenor, Señor del Norte, bass baritone, Priest, tenor.
Orchestra:1 fl. 1 ob. 1clr. 1 bssn. 1 trp. 1 trb. 1 perc. piano, strings
Duration: 90 minutes Language: English and Spanish
Synopsis:
La Reina is an electro-acoustic opera with text in Spanish and English. Drawing its narrative from the drug trade in Mexico and the United States, the opera is inspired by some of the most vivid real life players in this increasingly violent war from the past and present. Composer Jorge Sosa’s music blends classically trained voices with a chamber orchestra of acoustic and electronic forces, and powerfully conveys a gripping libretto by Laura Sosa Pedroza.Regina, a character inspired by Sandra Ávila Beltrán known as “The Queen of the Pacific,” prays in an American prison cell, asking the patron saint of drug dealers, to protect her. Suddenly, theshrine comes to life. La Santa Muerte guides Regina on a journey through her past, forcing herto relive thetragic sequences of death and treason that led to her crowning as the queen oforganized crime, and ultimately, her downfall and imprisonment.
Commissioned by American Lyric Theater
Lawrence Edelson, Producing Artistic Director
Co-presented as part of InsightALT and the PROTOTYPE Festival by French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) and American Lyric Theater
David Alan Miller, conductor, Audrey Babcock as Regina, Laura Claycomb as La Santa Muerte, Rosa Betancourt - Young Regina, Christopher Burchett - El Gringo, Javier Abreu - El Pozolero, Omar Najmi - El Gobernador, Zachary James - Ele Señor del Norte, Jeremy Milner, Don Neto, Priest/Soldier, Jonathan Blalock