THE BASICALLY BRITISH CONCERT
Opera de San Miguel’s 2024 season kicked off with a "Basically British" Concert at Santa Amalia
The first event of Ópera de San Miguel's 2024 season took place on Saturday, January 13, with a concert by the Santa Amalia Ensemble, an instrumental quintet formed by violinist Amadeus Arteaga Meza, theorbist and guitarist César Castellanos, cellist Rogelio Morales, drummer Mairead O'Grady and harpsichordist Emil Rzajev.
The extraordinary vocalists were soprano Jacinta Barbachano and mezzo-soprano Ingrid Fueli, both “alumni” of Concurso San Miguel.
It was a journey through six centuries of music by British composers: from the late Renaissance, John Dowland; through the Baroque masters Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel; Edward Elgar and Benjamin Britten from the late 19th and mid-20th centuries; Sting and Annie Lennox, from the late 20th century; and, representing the 21st century, Ellie Rowsell, from the rock band Wolf Alice; and Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, who performed a song by the American artist formerly known as Prince. All the pieces were arranged for period instruments.
The evening began with a reception of cheese, bread, cold-cuts and wine, in the field in front of the “troje” at the Santa Amalia Ranch, near Comonfort, where the concert was held.
Thus concluded this first event of Ópera de San Miguel's 2024 season.