For the second year, the Lunario offers an opera cycle to children

Based on the conviction that there can be no better dissemination of the lyrical genre than cultivating it from early childhood, Pro Ópera AC will carry out for the second consecutive year, in alliance with the Lunario of the National Auditorium, an opera cycle aimed at children, which will begin on January 26 and will extend to June 1.

It consists of three classic repertoire titles, beginning with Hansel and Gretel, de Engelbert Humperdinck; The barber of Seville, de Gioachino Rossini, y The magic flute, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The first two will be new productions, while the last, a revival.

According to Ricardo Calderón Figueroa, executive director of Pro Ópera, this initiative is part of the work that this non-profit civil association has undertaken for 40 years – which ends in 2025 – to support and disseminate lyrical art in Mexico. through activities, publications and sponsorships of operatic projects.

In accordance with these precepts, explains the cultural manager, said body decided in 2024 to venture into the production of opera for children. in a virtuous relationship with the Lunario and the National Auditoriumwhich has also sought to recover the space left vacant for more than five years by the cultural promoter Sylvia Rittner, who for years carried out a similar project in that facility.

We somehow took over the baton because it fits perfectly with our vocation. How are we going to spread and promote opera, if not from the first generations, making them feel that it is not something foreign or distant, that it can be very enjoyable and close?says Calderón Figueroa in an interview.

We are convinced that children, who are so receptive, are always open to new stimuli and new experiences; This is how it has turned out with this exercise that we have done since last year, with a very enthusiastic response and, I am wrong to say it, with a very high artistic level.

One of the particularities of this proposal is that the works are presented in short versions suitable for children, with a complete staging and piano accompaniment.

In these condensed versions there is above all a musical and stage direction work so that the stories are captured in a very explicit, very clear way. Irrelevant passages are omitted and the aim is to have a duration of approximately one hour. There are no intermissions, which the children enjoy very well, because they do not get tired.

To the above, it is added that in all the titles an actor participates who narrates how the story unfolds and links the scenes, in addition to having supertitling of the text in Spanish and digital projections that help maintain the appeal for children. .

The staging is carried out by experienced stage directors who, according to the cultural manager, They can always make proposals that are fun, very colorful, full of color and enjoyable.as well as the participation of a cast of young singers of very good professional level.

The choice of repertoire, he indicates, is made in coordination with the artistic and creative team with the purpose of finding works that are considered suitable due to the clarity of the message they transmit and accessibility. Thus, he points out, last year they were staged Cinderella, of Rossini, which is a universal history, and The magic flute, by Mozart, which can be interpreted as a fable and a children’s story where there are animals, enchantments and the extrapolation of good and evil.

The opera tells children the same fresh message that was said in the premiere: they are stories that for some reason are part of the universal repertoire of poetry, since, like the great masters of literature, of pictorial works, of theater, they always have a current readingadds the executive director of Pro Ópera. I feel that this possibility for children to have an approach with an artistic expression that is theoretically difficult, distant and for adults can be an absolutely enjoyable experience for them.

With a version in Spanish and adapted in scenic terms to Mexican reality, Hansel and Gretel The opera cycle for children will begin at the Lunario (next to the National Auditorium), with performances on Sundays, January 26 and February 2 at 12:30 and 4 p.m. The stage direction and set design are in charge of Jorge Ballina.

The barber of Seville, In the Italian version, it will be presented on Sundays, March 16 and 23, at the same times.

To close, on Sundays, May 25 and June 1, also at the same times, there will be a performance The magic flute. The director of these two works is Rodrigo Caravantes.

Tickets, whose cost ranges from 700 to 1,450 pesos, are on sale at the venue’s box office without extra charge and in the Ticketmaster system.