San Diego Opera Podcast

Andrea Catan, the widow of composer Daniel Catan, is a thoughtful and passionate advocate for her late husband's works, especially Florencia en el Amazonas. In this conversation with Dr. Nic, she talks about her husband's legacy, the music, its effect on the audience and her continuing joy in promoting the work of this master composer. We're honored that she took the time to spend with our audience, to give us an idea of what to expect when we see this wonderful piece. Enjoy!

Baritones Hector Vasquez and Luis Alejandro Orozco have both been involved in previous productions of Florencia en el Amazonas. Vasquez created the role of Alvaro at the world premiere at Houston Grand Opera and has since taken on the role of The Captain. Orozco has covered Riolobo (at Washington National Opera) and sung the role at Arizona Opera. These two artists have a lot to say about the opera, its music and its challenges, but overall are just great people to listen to! Enjoy their conversation with Dr. Nic!

Soprano Elaine Alvarez is singing the title role in Daniel Catan's Florencia en el Amazonas. In this conversation with Dr. Nic she talks about her exciting operatic debut at Chicago Lyric Opera as Mimi in La boheme, under the direction of renowned diva Renata Scotto, and her approach to the lyrical, challenging music of Daniel Catan. We can't wait to hear and see her at the opening of this wonderful opera on Saturday, March 17th!!

Stage director Candace Evans is making her San Diego Opera debut with Florencia en el Amazonas. In her mind, the characters in this opera are all looking for something that a trip into the river...dark, mysterious, filled with colorful but maybe dangerous creatures...challenges them to find. Every character in the opera comes away from the journey somehow changed, transformed. In a revealing interview with Dr. Nic she shares her excitement for this wonderful piece! Enjoy. 

If you want to know more about Daniel Catan's music for Florencia en el Amazonas, GO NO FURTHER! In this brief conversation with the conductor Joseph Mechavich, who will lead the musical forces in this San Diego Opera production, we get a wonderful description of the music as well as the music's role in communicating the 'magical realism' of the story. Enjoy!

While Florencia en el Amazonas is about a primary couple...the opera singer Florencia and her long-lost lover Cristobal...the secondary romantic couple Arcadio and Rosalba are just as fascinating! Sung here by soprano Maria Fernanda Castillo and tenor Paul Montenegro, this young couple spends the opera flirting, philosophizing and then finally connecting romantically as they grow together in love. Listen to these wonderful young singers talk about the opera, their roles, and the wonderful composer Daniel Catan. Enjoy!

Maestro Valerio Galli makes his San Diego Opera debut conducting Puccini's Turandot. The opera is close to Galli's heart because he hails from Viareggio, the neighboring town to the composer's Torre del Lago, and also an area where Puccini built a beautiful villa. In fact, in departing, Galli mentioned that his grandfather had at one point met the composer who was looking for advice on fixing his motorboat (one of Puccini's prized possessions!) Listen in on this conversation with Dr. Nic and enjoy!

Keturah Stickann has been with San Diego Opera for a good amount of time, as a dancer, choreographer, assistant director and now as the stage director of our latest production of Turandot. In this conversation with Dr. Nic, she explores production and costume elements of the show and talks about the ideas that helped her make a deep connection with this story. Again we're acquainted with the Persian roots of the story and the influence of the poet and mystic Rumi who Ms. Stickann found an important influence on her approach to the work. Enjoy!

Tenor Carl Tanner has been singing all the big, hefty Italian tenor roles: Otello, Manrico, Radames, Calaf. Otello has become a go-to role for him, an opera that he's appeared in many times. In this conversation with Dr. Nic he talks about how he got there, the challenges of these roles, how to deal with the ubiquitous sound of Pavarotti singing "Nessun dorma", and a fascinating side-career in jewelry design! Enjoy.

Angel Blue is one of opera's up-and-coming stars and is making her role (and house) debut as Liu in our production of Turandot. As a Southern Californian and University of Redlands graduate, she's practically a 'local' and, as she expresses in this interview, is delighted to be singing at home! She recently made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Mimi and is looking forward to upcoming appearances as Marguerite in Faust and Violetta in La traviata. Enjoy this conversation!