By Signe Hammer
Pro Musica welcomes a stellar trio of Mexican opera singers—tenor Rodrigo Garciarroyo, baritone Jesús Suaste and soprano Anna Montserrat Hernández, with Alejandro Vigo on piano, to serenade us with Neapolitan and Italian songs of love and passion. Come hear this perfect summer concert in St. Paul’s Church on Sunday, July 31 at 5pm. Standard Covid hygiene protocols will be in place and face masks are required.
Beloved in San Miguel, Rodrigo Garciarroyo, Pro Musica’s Director of Opera, has for years enriched our operas with his soaring, impassioned tenor voice, captivating stage presence, elegant musicality and theatricality. Since his concert debut at New York’s Alice Tully Hall and his operatic leading role debut at the Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes, he has performed to great acclaim throughout Latin America and the United States. As written by John Bills in ProOpera Magazine: “An experienced … refined professional, combining a rich timbre and a smooth legato with secure and heroic high notes; …first class singing!”
Jesús Suaste is also a welcome returnee, having appeared in Pro Musica’s productions of Don Pascuale earlier this year and L’Elisir D’Amore last year. A great comic opera performer with an unforgettable stage presence, he possesses a baritone voice of a singular timbre. His debut at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City was highly acclaimed, and he has performed with the most important orchestras and conductors in Latin America, as well as in venues in Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Ireland and the United States.
Making her San Miguel debut, soprano Anna Montserrat Hernández currently studies with Jesús Suaste. She has studied and taught at the Jalisco Ministry of Culture Music School and performed as a soloist in operas and recitals around Mexico.
The Neapolitan and Italian songs that make up our program, mainly about love requited or unrequited, are the work of great opera composers and others popular in their day. Major singers like Placido Domingo and Andrea Bocelli continue to perform these songs, which have deep folk roots. These short songs are a joy to listen to, and we will hear nearly twenty of them to make your spine tingle! Among the more familiar, the score of La Danza, a patter song in the rapid-fire tempo of a tarantella napolitana, is by Rossini, famous for his operas The Barber of Seville and William Tell. Mattinata, Dawn, by Leoncavallo of Pagliacci fame, was composed for The Gramophone Company, now EMI. He dedicated it to Enrico Caruso, who immediately recorded it with Leoncavallo on piano. Both songs are concert favorites of tenors. You will be familiar with many of these wonderful songs even without recognizing the Italian names, but we are sure you will know Return to Sorrento and O Sole Mio.
Tickets for the concerts at St. Paul’s are $200, $400 and $600 pesos donation each, and are on sale through our website, and at the concert 45 minutes before performance time. Details of all Pro Musica’s concerts and Patron Membership are on our website, www.promusicasma.org, or contact us at promusicasma@aol.com.
Pro Musica Summer Concert Series
Neapolitan and Italian Songs
Rodrigo García Arroyo, tenor, Jesús Suaste, baritone
Anna Montserrat Hernández, soprano, Alejandro Vigo, piano
Sun, Jul 31, 5pm
St. Paul’s Church, calle Cardo
Tickets: 200, 400, 600 pesos
