The Center for Contemporary Opera presents El Cimarrón
by Paul J. Pelkonen
The death of German composer Hans Werner Henze was one of the significant events of 2013. A cosmopolitan figure of towering influence, Henze's operas and symphonies pointed a way forward in the latter half of the 20th century, and yet his vast output for the stage remains mostly unknown to the average opera-goer.
This week, to celebrate Henze's memory, the Center for Contemporary Opera offered two fully staged performances of El Cimarrón, ("The Runaway Slave") a demanding, but compelling hybrid between opera and song cycle written during Henze's two-year residency in Cuba. This was the first performance of this score in a New York stage since 1986.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
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| Esteban Montejo, the subject of Hans Werner Henze's El Cimarrón. |
This week, to celebrate Henze's memory, the Center for Contemporary Opera offered two fully staged performances of El Cimarrón, ("The Runaway Slave") a demanding, but compelling hybrid between opera and song cycle written during Henze's two-year residency in Cuba. This was the first performance of this score in a New York stage since 1986.
