Ópera de Tenerife is staging "El orgullo de quererte", a newly composed zarzuela by Javier Carmena, at the Sala Sinfónica in the Auditorio de Tenerife. The focus is on characters who dare to love, even though those around them do not always acknowledge that love. Families, institutions and the judgement of others seek to dictate which feelings are permitted to be expressed. In the Chueca district, however, the characters carve out their own emotional space, where pride becomes the answer to fear and guilt.
The production links this material to the present day and portrays love as a quiet act of resistance in a climate of hatred and right-wing regression. The opera is sung in Spanish, with surtitles in Spanish and English.
The cast includes the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, the Coro Titular Ópera de Tenerife-Intermezzo and the Centro Internacional de Danza Tenerife. Alondra de la Parra is the musical director, with Albert Boadella and Martina Cabanas directing. The cast includes Enrique Viana as P. J., Leonardo Sánchez as Tadeo, Germán Olvera as Alonso, María Rey-Joly as Mari Cruz, Mar Morán as Mari Trini, Andrea Rey as Mari Paz, Berna Perles as La Petri, and Gerardo López, Jesús Cantolla and Daniel González as the Mariquitas.
The zarzuela is a co-production by the Fundación Orquesta y Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid (ORCAM) and the Auditorio de Tenerife. There will be three performances. Admission is restricted to those aged five and over. No admission will be permitted once the auditorium doors have closed.