OPERA San Antonio is about to stage its first production in the upcoming season.
Artistic Director Enrique Carreon-Robledo is happy with the way the work is progressing.
"I'm happy to say that when you get goosebumps from some of the performance at the rehearsal, that already tells you that there's going to be a few showstoppers when we get down to it," he says.
What he's talking about is their production of Macbeth, which he says is filled with intrigue – and much more sinister themes of power, lust, and murder.
Verdi's demanding opera requires much of those who try to pull it off. Careful casting ensures the parts will work in sync, starting with Macbeth, played by Greer Grimsley.
"Greer Grimsley is the bass baritone that has sang all over the world. He has a spectrum of repertoire and he has been particularly successful with this role. His rendition is something incredibly special, that I'm really glad we'll be sharing with our San Antonio audiences," Carreon-Robledo says.
Conducting the music is a name San Antonians know well.
"And we have maestro Sebastian Lang-Lessing who we know to have a very sturdy and incredibly experienced hand," Carreon-Robledo explains.
Lang-Lessing is conducting, but not the San Antonio Symphony.
"He is conducting the orchestra of OPERA San Antonio. Because there is a transitional period with our great collaborators, the San Antonio Symphony, whom we hope to renew that collaboration once things have settled, both organizations agreed that the best way to go about it was to do a one-time contract with the local 23 of the American Federation of Musicians," Carreon-Robledo says.
So you will see members of the symphony, but not playing as the symphony.
"It will be around 55 members, which is standard orchestra for this," he says.
The music will be sung in original Italian with English captions projected above. Macbeth debuts Friday night at the Tobin and wraps Sunday afternoon with a performance at 2 p.m.
Find more on this production here.
