(Photo credits: © Ken
Howard and Martha Hart
Courtesy: San Diego Opera)
In 1994, the
San Diego Opera (SDO) began
showcasing works by North American composers. Called the North
American Voices project, it was launched with the premiere of
Rappacini's Daughter by Daniel Catan, followed by Gerhswin's
Porgy and Bess in 1995 and by Carlisle Floyd's The Passion
of Jonathan Wade in 1996.
In 1997, the SDO mounted an entirely new production of a never-before-performed
opera The Conquistador, by the American composer Myron
Fink. The opera world-premiered on March 1, 2024 and, with renowned
tenor Jerry Hadley in the title role, played to a full house for
three more performances. It marked a historic artistic event for
San Diego and was celebrated county-wide with a symposium, exhibits
and a lecture series.
Set in 16th-century Mexico or New Spain as it was then called,
the opera is based on the true story of Don Luis de Carvajal y
de la Cueva, Conquistador and Defender of the Faith. But alas!
of Jewish ancestry and inevitably, victim of the Mexican Inquisition.
And therein lies the source of the conflict and its many manifestations
- so poignantly dramatized in both Donald Moreland's poetic libretto
and Myron Fink's powerful music with its colorful interplay of
tonality and dissonance.
The Conquistador is set in the distant past, yet its theme
rings true even today - among residents of San Diego and other
areas of the American Southwest that were once part of New Spain
and in the hearts and minds of Jewish peoples all over the world
and indeed, of modern-day victims of still unconquered hatreds.
Is The Conquistador to be earmarked for greatness? Of course,
only time will tell. Critics may have their own ideas, but it
is fair to say that everything about The Conquistador -
the theme, the staging, the words and the music - touched the
audience. These pages are FanFaire's way of spreading
the word about this fine work, its creators, and the artists who
gave it shape and form; they take you through a unique journey,
the coming to life of an opera - beginning as a flash of an idea
in the composer's mind and culminating as a full-fledged stage
production celebrated with all the fanfare of a world premiere.
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An
Overview
