LA has a new opera in town – and a new take on a classic. Created by Juan J. Colomer, the composer is also the co-founder of the LA Grand Ensemble.
Dulcinea XL performed at the Colburn School in DTLA this week, is based on episodes of Don Quixote, according to Colomer. “It is based on the one in which Sancho, in order to cover his own lie, tries to make Quixote believe that an ugly and overweight peasant is the beautiful Dulcinea. Only this time, Quixote sees the reality, and thinks that he might be under a spell and that’s he can’t see her beauty. In the second act, a couple of Noblemen try to have fun at their expense, which includes Sancho having to pay for his lies.”
Colomer notes that while recently many classic operas or plays have been changed to a more recent time period to make the appeal more modern for a 21st century audience, that was not his choice.
“When I wrote this opera, I preferred to do something more subtle, and instead of extrapolating, just focus on a minor detail of the original book. By changing the focus to an idea that existed in the original but nobody cared about, we bring the attention to an issue that is absolutely relevant now. The fact that Dulcinea is extra-large resonates more with people now and is a reflection of the issues of this time.”
Colomer stresses that another issue is self-acceptance.
“Dulcinea is secure of herself and knows a fool when she sees one. She could easily be flattered that an apparent ‘knight’ fell for her and believe his lunacies, but she was grounded and knew who she was and that made her secure enough to make fun of Don Quixote. That could easily be extrapolated to Hollywood and how easy is for people to fell prey of ‘pseudo-producers’ that tell you how rich and famous they’ll make you, when it is clear from the beginning that their offices might be a mail box and and their cars wouldn’t pass the slightest inspection.”
Prescient and perfect for our time, the opera promises to be an exciting evening at the Colburn.
“In a sense, these classics have withstood the passage of time, and remain relevant because they talk about the human character, and that remains the same,” Colomer says.
The L.A. Grand Ensemble is a flexible group composed of musicians mostly from the Los Angeles Opera and LA Philharmonic, according to Colomer. The group offers concerts with visual elements, lights, projections, dance, and costume design. He felt that an opera was a natural medium to explore all elements, and stresses that “All the visual aspects of the production are present and the audience can enjoy the musicians on stage instead of buried in the pit, which is also a part of the visual appeal, especially when they are some of the best musicians in Los Angeles.”
The eclectic and original work features singers, Xavier Prado, Milena Gligiç, Melissa Treinkman, David Castillo, and Camila Lima, shown above.
“Costume designer Swinda Reichelt with her completely unique vision of the über famous characters, and the choreography of Lorin Johnson add another layer of humorous drama,” Colomer says. Dancers are Meg Murphy and Katelyn Sanchez.
“We are also very excited to have a video animation and illustrations by the charismatic Sergio Arau that serve as set design. All of that under the baton of Maestro Ignazio Terrasi.” (above)
He adds “We are also very thankful that the Tourist Office of Spain has helped us bring this production to life.”
Looking ahead, Colomer says the LA Grand Ensemble has many projects to choose from. With Dulcinea Xl, however, he says “Our main goal with is to serve as a presentation of the work, so that other people or organizations looking for new operas can see it and present it at different venues.”
Be one of the first to see this exciting production on Wednesday, January 30th at 8 p.m. at the Zipper Conert Hall, located at 200 S. Grand in downtown LA. Tickets are $30 to $50. For more information, visit: LA Grand Ensemble; tickets at: Eventbrite
