Maria de Buenos Aires by Piazzolla, From (2023/2023), Directed by Dennis Whitehead Darling,, Conductor Rolando Salazar, Southern Theatre, Columbus, United States

The sensual rhythms of tango combine with operatic passions in Maria de Buenos Aires. Astor Piazzolla‘s revolutionary nuevo tango score and Horacio Ferrer‘s mesmerizing poetry unite the ethereal realm with the physical world to portray the spiritual journey of the opera’s heroine with costumes by Gerardo Encinas and choreography by Jeffrey Goltiao Born in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina “on a day that God was drunk,” Maria heads to the center of town on her quest for freedom. She is quickly seduced by the music of the tango, and her world devolves into darkness, with the gritty streets claiming her as their own. Maria’s spirit survives, returning to haunt the city of her birth in death. Sensual and pulsing to the beat of Argentine tango, this mesmerizing tale of a woman consumed by passion and her reckless search for love and freedom intoxicates the eyes and ears. The haunting melodies that drive Maria’s every step are played by an orchestra featuring uniquely Argentinian sounds. Piazzolla’s seductive score is irresistible and electrifying; Ferrer’s poetry compelling and provocative. Like the tango itself, Maria de Buenos Aries entwines you in its fierce embrace and never lets you go!