UN HÉROE IMAGINARIO
(AN IMAGINARY HERO)
Short story book
Opera MANUELA & BOLÎVAR, concert version
As part of the celebration of 200 years of independence, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador presents, after 16 years of its premiere, the opera Manuela y Bolívar, by Diego Luzuriaga, in concert version.
The work is a reflection on the love and death of this legendary couple of liberators. It is a reflection on the passion that Manuela Sáenz and Simón Bolívar generated for each other, and for the country, and for history. It is also a song to Antonio José de Sucre, to Jonatás (Manuela's confidant), and to José Palacios (Bolivar's butler).
The premiere of the opera Manuela y Bolívar was performed with great success on November 13, 2006, at the Teatro Nacional Sucre, and was the first Ecuadorian opera to be staged. Julio Bueno was the director of the Teatro Sucre, Javier Andrade was the stage director, Álvaro Manzano directed the National Symphony Orchestra with solo singers and choirs from the Fundación Teatro Nacional Sucre.
On May 12, 2022, the concert version was presented for the first time at the Casa de la Música in Quito. With María Sabel Albuja (Manuela), Marlon Valverde (Bolívar), María Fernanda Argotti (Jonatás), Diego Maldonado (Sucre) and Andrés Carrera (José Palacios). Yury Sobolev, music director.
Esther de Catacocha, musical
Oil painting by Clare Doherty Luzuriaga
An unlikely love, but as marked as the Latin American miscegenation. It takes place in the 17th century, in Catacocha, a city far from the center, but rich, where three cultures coexist within the framework of the Spanish colonial yoke. There is a precipice, the Chiriculapo, from where unrequited lovers commit suicide, and also those fleeing forced labor in the gold mines. José is the ideal user. Esther wants to save him...
Story, script and music by Diego Luzuriaga.
Due to the pandemic, this musical could not premiere in 2020, as scheduled. It is expected to be premiered in 2023.
CANTATA DEL PICHINKU, for choir and military band
On the occasion of the 200 years of independence, and under the auspices of the Pichincha Provincial Council, the Cantata del Pichinku premiered on May 22, 2022, at the Bolívar Theater in Quito.
With the help of a sparrow —the Pichinku—, in this cantata we take a tour of the province of Pichincha. We fly north, south, east, west, visiting people and places, stories and legends of this wonderful Andean region. Pichinku is not a historian, he is not a cartographer, he is not a sociologist or anthropologist, he is an observant, sensitive and modest poet, who feels empathy and pride for the people of our province. He, an ordinary bird —not a condor, nor a curiquingue, nor a parrot—, without anyone noticing his presence, has been a witness to our dramas, our hardships, our ecstasies, and has made them into poetry and music. In 16 songs, which stylistically take a lot from traditional Andean music, the Pichinku tells us about the Pichincha volcano —a father figure common to all of us—, it tells us about the arrival of the Incas and the Spanish, it tells us about the Yumbos, about Eugenio Espejo, about Tránsito Amaguaña. He tells us about the great Caspicara, about the modest but essential town bands, he tells about peace, war and rain, among various other topics.
The cantata was premiered by the band and choirs of the Pichincha Provincial Council. Wilson Haro, director of the band, has made its instrumental adaptation from the original scores of Diego Luzuriaga, author of all the texts and music.
Why a cantata to the province of Pichincha? Luzuriaga set himself a very particular objective: Celebrate the peripheries, the provincial towns, the low architectures, the little-frequented paths, the daily chores of the less visible people. Elements that in general have not been the object of great artistic tributes. This work, while honoring some of our landmarks and classic historical figures, above all it sings the provincial culture of every day life. The work, which lasts 80 minutes, was commissioned by the Pichincha Provincial Council, which accepted an initiative by maestroWilson Haro.