Revolution of Forms

Cubanacán: A Revolution of Forms - the first Cuban opera in almost fifty years, begins the 2015 Havana Biennale, with its first performance on Friday 22 May 2015 at the School of Plastic Arts, Instituto Superior de Arte, Havana, Cuba.

With a libretto by celebrated American filmmaker Charles Koppelman and music by leading Cuban composer Roberto Valera, Cubanacán tells the story of Cuba's National Art Schools, built in the 1960s in the suburbs west of Havana. Led by Music Director Zenaida Romeu, the premiere production - part of the 2015 Bienal de la Habana - features a stellar cast of Cuban singers performing on the site of the Schools.

An opera twelve years in the making, Cubanacán: A Revolution of Forms uses myth, allegory and history to tell the story of Cuba's National Art Schools, a set of five institutions dreamed up by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara during a golf match in the early 1960s. Charles Koppelman, a California-based filmmaker known for his independent features and documentaries, wrote a libretto which explores the passion and heartbreak of architect Ricardo Porro (1925-2014), whose spiritual and artistic mission was ultimately tangled up in the complex politics of post-revolutionary Cuba.

After visiting an exhibit at the National Art Schools in San Francisco, Koppelman was contemplating making a documentary or film about the story, when it occurred to him that opera was the ideal format for the story: 'The schools themselves represent the elements of opera: music, dance, drama and art, and their creation involved major historical figures at a watershed moment in world history', says Koppelman.

To infuse the opera with an authentic flavor, Koppelman teamed up with Cuban composer Roberto Valera, a figurehead of contemporary Cuban music, who provides an intense and colorful score that captures the essence of the era and the impact it had on one artist's soul.

The 2015 Bienal de la Habana has been curated around the theme of 'Between the idea and the experience', and will be the first significant cultural event showcasing Cuban art to take place since the US lifted its travel ban.

Information: www.biennialfoundation.org

Posted: 24 January 2015

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