Karli Cadel

Guadalupe Paz as La Mujer

The San Diego Opera is on a roll that started with last season’s production of *Tosca*. October saw continuing an exquisite concert featuring Latonia Moore and J’Nai Bridges, and now SDO has triumphed with El Milagro del Recuerdo—*The Miracle of Remembering*.

El Milagro is a mariachi opera of sorts. I say, “Of sorts” because the show was mic’d and, as we all know, microphones are not a part of opera unless the performance is outdoors. That being said, I was happy that the show used amplification because it allowed the singers to be more personal with their characterizations.

I found the music, the performances, and the production to be exactly what I needed. I have grown tired of entertainments that are based upon identity instead of actions. I am fed up with fictions that focus on leadership, aka power, instead of love. I am sick to death of creative types who are trying to subvert the audience’s expectations instead of telling a story with heart.

El Milagro had heart, it told a beautiful story, and it focused on the power of love and family. There was no drumbeat of freeing those oppressed by their imperialistic overlords. This was a story about the tension between providing and being present. This was a story about regret and reward. I should say that at times the writing got blatant with its messaging but just a tad.

As the show was coming to its conclusion I found myself wondering how it would end. Would it all be wrapped up nice and neat like a Hallmark Christmas? To his credit, librettist Leonard Foglia did not resolve the tension and choices the characters were facing. Instead, the characters choose to embrace and enjoy the time, the moment, they have together instead of worrying about the future. It is left up to us, the audience, to debate the fate of the characters.

Regarding the mariachi style, I quite enjoyed it. I found myself forming a relationship with the trumpets in the orchestra pit. It felt as if they played the role of a Greek chorus, commenting on the drama that was unfolding. Every time they played, and it was often, I felt my friendship with the trumpets increase.

The singing was solid across the entire cast but two singers must be acknowledged for their superlative performances. The first is tenor Felipe Prado in the role of the local priest. The consistency of tone was impressive and his top notes were exciting and beautiful at the same time.

Guadalupe Paz, in the role of La Mujer or The Woman, was perfect. Her voice was not overly operatic in the role but neither was it too light. Paz presented a sound that suited the function of her character. It was beautiful but with depth. When the true identity of her character was revealed there were gasps in the audience followed by the wiping of tears.

This is the direction San Diego Opera needs to continue in. A warhorse such as *Tosca* followed by a concert of world-class singing and then a show of modest proportions that moves an audience to tears.