Posted Dec 29, 2020 at 7:42 pm • Updated Jun 19, 2021 at 12:43 am

You might like this if…

• You can’t get enough of Puccini
• You’ve ever read one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novels
• Le encanta el español y/o la música mexicana
• Your library card history miiight show some romance novels
• You admire those with a green thumb
or
• You’ve been daydreaming about a trip to the botanical gardens

The Story

Dr. Rappaccini isolates his daughter Beatriz in an exotic garden overflowing with remarkable, but deadly, flowers. After glimpsing her beauty from his apartment window, a young medical student falls in love – but a dark secret threatens their romance. Rappaccini has been testing his toxic botanicals on Beatriz, and she has become poisonous to the touch.

The ~Vibe~

Thought-provoking, intimate, romantic, garden sounds

This fully staged 90-minute Spanish opera will be filmed in real time with English subtitles. The Chicago Digital Premiere performance will be available for 72-hours via Valhalla Media Live.

What’s cool about this show?

• In honor of the tale’s themes of botanical experimentation, the production will be filmed at the world-renowned Field Museum, known for its work in the natural sciences
• The story is based on the play by Octavio Paz and short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Several members of the principal cast and creative team are native Spanish speakers
• Despite being written in 1983, Catán’s chamber opera is full of timely threads like scientific experimentation and love at a distance
• Director Crystal Manich has worked on a number of video productions this season

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