Austin Opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna at the Long Center Dell Hall in Austin, Texas

Austin Opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna | Texas Review | Ralph Arvesen

Austin Opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna at the Long Center Dell Hall in Austin, Texas on February 1, 2024, with Conductor Timothy Myers, Director David Radamés Toro, and cast Daniel Noyola, Cassandra Zoé Velasco, Claudia Chapa, Efraín Solís, Lily Guerrero, Daniel Montenegro, Efraín Corralejo, Julián Gámez-Arizola, Enrik Camacho, and Trío Chapultepec.. (Photo: Ralph Arvesen)

The first ever Mariachi opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna / To Cross the Face of the Moon, follows the two families of Laurentino, a Mexican man who has moved to the United States to work, even though that means leaving behind his wife Renata and son Rafael. Although he sends money home, and visits when he can, his choices have tragic consequences for his family left in Michoacán.

Decades later, he lies dying. Now an elderly man, cared for by his American son Mark and granddaughter Diana, Laurentino questions the true meaning for him of ‘family’ and ‘home’ after a life straddling two cultures, a life in which he kept so many secrets from those he loved. Even as he draws his final breath, the two strands of his life finally come together in an emotional reunion, and Laurentino perhaps finds the answers he needs to rest peacefully.

Embroidered with the ultimate symbol of migration, the Monarch butterfly, Cruzar is set in Texas and Mexico in both the past and the present. José ‘Pepe’ Martínez’s groundbreaking score blends the unique sound a Trío Chapultepec (Vincent Pequeño, Israel Alcala, and William Carlton Galvez) with a full opera orchestra in a new orchestration by David Hanlon. Martínez collaborated on the libretto with the eminent writer and stage director, Leonard Foglia, who also wrote the book and directed the premiere production.

Daniel Noyola and Cassandra Zoé Velasco make their Austin Opera and role debuts as the separated spouses, Laurentino and Renata. Veteran Cruzar cast members Efraín Solís and Efraín Corralejo make their Austin Opera debuts as Laurentino’s sons Mark and Rafael. Making her Austin Opera and role debut in the role of Diana, Laurentino’s granddaughter, is Lily Guerrero. Austin Opera Curator of Hispanic and Latinx Programming Claudia Chapa makes her role debut as Lupita alongside Daniel Montenegro who portrays her husband Chucho.

Austin Opera’s Sarah and Ernest Butler Music Director Timothy Myers will conduct this company premiere, collaborating with director David Radamés Toro. Cruzar la Cara de la Luna is the first full-scale opera supported by the Butler Fund for Spanish Programming.

Story
Texas, present day, Laurentino is 75 and very ill. His son Mark serenades him on guitar. Mark’s daughter Diana asks about Laurentino’s Mexican-born son, Rafael, who has been estranged from Laurentino for decades. Laurentino wakes, but in his delirium mistakes Mark for Rafael. Mark continues to play the guitar while Laurentino remembers the last time he heard this song: his wedding to Renata in Mexico 50 years ago.

Flashing back to that day, the newlyweds Renata and Laurentino enter to great celebration with their friends Lupita and Chucho (En fragiles alas/On fragile wings). They dream together of their future (A cincuenta años de ahora/50 years from now).

Present-day Laurentino wakes from this beautiful dream crying out for Renata. Diana remains with Laurentino while Mark attempts to make contact with Rafael. Diana comforts Laurentino, joined by the ghost of Renata. They both promise to be with him until the very end (Siempre estoy aquí / I’m always here).

Back in Mexico, 50 years ago, Chucho, Laurentino’s friend, convinces him to travel to the United States with him for work, promising him a better paycheck and a better life for him and his family (Diez veces más/Ten times more). Renata is not pleased with Laurentino’s decision to leave Mexico. Laurentino promises to return regularly.

In the present, Mark and Diana contemplate Laurentino’s health. Separately, Mark and Rafael agonize over what making contact with each other could mean (Números/Numbers).

The scene returns 43 years in the past as Lupita remarks how beautiful Renata’s new house is, but Renata confides her anguish over Laurentino’s absence (Un pueblo sin hombres/A town without men). Renata engages Victor to smuggle her and young Rafael across the border into the U.S. While they embark on the perilous journey across the desert, Laurentino and Chucho talk about how much they miss their families (Norte y sur/North and south). On their desert journey, Renata struggles to keep moving, revealing that she is pregnant. She eventually collapses while clutching Rafael. Victor tears Rafael from his dead mother and flees back to Mexico with the boy.

Laurentino learns of the tragedy through Lupita, who tells him Rafael is traumatized and needs time to recover. Laurentino asks where Renata is buried, but she cannot bring herself to tell him the truth. Laurentino continues his search while Lupita voices her longing for Chucho’s reassurance (Di mi nombre/Say my name).

Present-day Laurentino watches the butterflies outside his window. He tells Diana the story of their miraculous journey and his fascination with them as a boy (Cruzar la cara de la luna/To cross the face of the moon). She promises to help bring him back to Mexico after he dies.

Eighteen years after Renata’s death, Laurentino finally locates his son. But filled with his own anguish and rage with his father’s decision to leave Mexico, Rafael refuses to acknowledge Laurentino as his father. Laurentino persists, observing that Rafael has Renata’s eyes (Los ojos de tu madre/Your mother’s eyes).

In the present, Rafael, contemplating his decision to reunite with his father and his new family, falls into a dream where his mother appears. Together they dance, and Renata urges him to forgive Laurentino (¿Quieres bailar?/Want to dance?). Rafael reunites with Laurentino and introduces his daughter, Renata. She assures Laurentino of her love for him (El padre de mi padre/My father’s father). Reconciled with his family and at peace, Laurentino dies. As Diana promised, the family buries Laurentino in Mexico as the monarch butterflies descend to welcome him home (Mi hogar/My home).

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