InVenezuela, since the opening of theTeatro Caracas and, earlier, the Teatro Maderero (then called Teatro de la Zarzuela), there has been a great lyrical tradition ranging from serious opera to operetta, zarzuela, and Spanish musical reviews.
The first Venezuelan opera wasEl maestro Rufo Zapatero anopera buffa composed in 1848 byJosé María Osorio.[1]Virginia byJosé Ángel Montero (sometimes incorrectly called the first Venezuelan opera) debuted in 1877, under the auspices ofAntonio Guzmán Blanco. Another major early Venezuelan opera composer wasReynaldo Hahn, who was greatly influenced by his teacherJules Massenet. He greatly expanded the genre of French operetta, of whichCiboulette was his most famous work; he also composed operas asLe Merchand de Venise.[2]
Before the foregoing had occurred, José María Osorio had composed earlyzarzuelas. The first Venezuelan zarzuela to debut, however, wasJosé Ángel Montero'sLos alemanes en Italia, in the 1860s. Montero also debuted the zarzuelasEl Cumpleaños de Leonor,El Charlatán Mudo,La Modista, and many others. Another major zarzuela composer wasPedro Elías Gutiérrez, who used Venezuelan rhythms. His most important work was perhapsAlma Llanera, with lyrics byRafael Bolívar Coronado.
In the 20th century,Caracas had a rich cultural tradition. Teatro Maderero, Teatro Caracas, and the more modernTeatro Nacional andTeatro Municipal competed for the public's attention. The Teatro Maderero and Teatro Caracas, after the construction of the latter two, played a secondary role and were nearly always used for popular musical acts, such as reviews and fandango. The Teatro Nacional was the theater for the country's finest zarzuela, while the Municipal typically staged Italian, German and French works, which were more serious. Today Venezuelan operas are typically held in theTeatro Teresa Carreño.
Contemporary Venezuelan opera composers includeMaría Luisa Escobar, whose works includeKanaime,Orquídeas Azules, andPrincesa Girasol. Other important composers areHector Pellegatti (author of theverismo operaEl Negro Miguel with lyrics byPedro Blanco Vilariño),[3]Alexis Rago (author ofEl Páramo,Miranda, andFroilán el Infausto),[4]Eric Colon (author of El Caballero de Ledesma),Federico Ruíz (author of the famous opera buffaLos martirios de Colón [es], with a libretto byAquiles Nazoa).[5]
Other recent premieres include the operaGertrudis byGerardo Gerulewicz, with a libretto byXiomara Moreno [es], which premiered in concert and in full stage production in Caracas, Venezuela.
Venezuelan-American composerSylvia Constantinidis who has written music and libretto for several lyrical works: two dramatic contemporary operas,Araminta andAfrodita; one experimental short opera,Aurora; and three children operas,Lincoln,Ponce de Leon, andThe First ThanksGiving. Some scenes fromAraminta were premiered in concert in England 2017.Afrodita was premiered in concert in England 2015 and in Miami, USA, also in 2015.Aurora, the experimental short opera, was premiered in England in 2011. The three children operas:Lincoln,Ponce de Leon, andThe First ThanksGiving, were all premiered in Florida, USA, in 2001, 2002, and 2003. For these three children operas Constantinidis received the Educator of Note Award 2003 by the Ethel and W. George Kennedy Family Foundation, and the Young Patronesses of the Opera, the Florida Grand Opera.[6] In 2024 Ángel Hernández Lovera premiered the óperaAlice conducted byElisa Vega.
The sopranosFedora Alemán,Cecilia Nuñez,Flor García,Aurra Cipriani,Reyna Calanche,Leila Mastrocola,Hilda Breer [es],Beatriz Michelena,Carmen Hurtado,Inés Salazar [es],Margot Pares-Reyna,Rosita del Castillo,Rosa Savoini,Alba Simara,Sara Catarine [es],Thays Vergara andLola Linares, mezzosopranosMorella Muñoz,Nancy Fabiola Herrera,Teresa Carreño,Mariela Valladares, andAida Navarro, contraltoIsabel Palacios [es], the tenorsFernando Michelena,Alfredo Sadel,Carlos Almenar Otero [es],Aquiles Machado [es],Nico Castel,Rubén Domínguez,Ruben Malnez,Idwer Alvarez,Manuel Pérez,David Hidalgo,Eduardo Melgar,Edgar Bastidas,Sergio Duran,Julio Felce,Gregory Pino,Víctor López,Ugo Corsetti,Francisco Morales andBlas Martínez, baritonesRamón Iriarte,Francisco Salazar,William Alvarado,Sergio Daniele, Gaspar Colón Moleiro andCayito Aponte,Jorge Páez and bassDaniel Bendahan,Claudio Muskus,Pedro Liendo,Julio César Mármol [es], Samuel Jones,Yunis Sujur andCarlos Maury.
Gustavo Dudamel,Reynaldo Hahn,Gonzalo Castellanos Yumar,Carlos Mendoza, Eric Colon, Alexis Rago,Atanasio Bello Montero,Ángel Sauce,Eduardo Rahn,Havid Sanchez,Primo Casale,Angelo Pagliucca,Isabel Palacios,Elisa Vega,Alfredo Rugeles,Eduardo Marturet,Carlos Riazuelo [es],Cesar Ivan Lara,Rafael Payare,Rodolfo Saglimbeni,Teresa Carreño,Diego Matheuz [es],Felipe Izcaray [es].
