Milwaukee opera hits a high note in the global spotlight

When the world thinks of opera, they envision it taking place in illustrious settings like New York's Metropolitan Opera House, the Sydney Opera House and the scores of similar locales across Europe.

While Milwaukee's Marcus Center for the Performing Arts houses no shortage of artistic prowess, it seems an uncommon peer to such storied venues.

This weekend, however, it will be just that.

Marking the first world premiere performance in their 77-year history, the Florentine Opera Company will present "Rio de Sangre," a new opera by composer Don Davis.

This unique debut location seems all the more fitting in light of the fact that "Rio de Sangre" is sung entirely in Spanish -- a unique choice in itself, and an unconventional one in a genre dominated by the Italian, French and German languages.

"Spanish is a beautifully musical language," said Davis, who, along with librettist Kate Gale and translator Alicia Partnoy, created the opera. "Living in southern California, the Latin American culture is a big part of my landscape."

"Rio de Sangre" is also Davis' first opera score. He is best known for his award-winning work in film and television, which includes music for the three films in "The Matrix" trilogy.

"Ever since I started writing music, writing an opera was always at the back of my mind," said Davis. "Once I thought about the idea of political turmoil in Latin America, it all kind of started to fall in place."

Bringing the opera to Milwaukee was met with similarly fortunate circumstances when William Florescu, the Florentine Opera's general director, expressed an interest in producing what would also become the company's first Spanish-language performance.

"The aspirations of the Florentine happened to coincide with mine," said Davis. "I came out to meet with him, and was very impressed with the town. It has one of the world's great symphonies, and an excellent opera."

In addition to talents of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Davis was equally impressed by the skill of the Florentine Opera Company and its stage director, Paula Suozzi.

"Any trepidation I had was very quickly dispelled," said Davis. "At first I was worried that she might shy away from some of the violent content, but she really pushed it right to the edge. Everyone knows their part, and the cast is just perfection in their abilities and ability to embody the characters."

In a true measure of the show's progress, the cast members themselves echo Davis' sentiments.

"We have been having some really intense rehearsals, but it's not as hectic as you would think," said chorus member Erica Schuller. "Things are going in a really great direction."

Schuller, an alumna of the Milwaukee High School of the Arts and a current Florentine Opera Company Studio Artist, is also making her Florentine debut with this production.

"I remember coming to the Marcus Center when I was young, and it's really exciting to be on the other side of things," said Schuller. "It's almost surreal, being able to perform with the company that first introduced me to this repertoire. It's great that we have the kind of arts culture to promote a new show and a world premiere like this."

With the premiere of "Rio de Sangre," the Florentine Opera Company is poised to establish its already substantial reputation – and that of Milwaukee opera -- on a global scale.

"This is going to bring the Florentine into a new level of opera," said Schuller. "The Florentine is a fantastic house, and this is going to give it that extra something to put it into national and international recognition. I think people are really going to turn out in numbers for this."