MSU Latin American Music Series, Opera Theatre Produce Children’s Opera

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month during the fall of 2004, MSU’s Musique 21 and Opera Theatre presented a one-act Latin American children’s opera as part of the MSU Latin American Music Series. The performance was sponsored by the MSU School of Music, Wharton Center for Performing Arts, and Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

The fully costumed opera, entitled Monkey See, Monkey Do, was written by Robert Rodriguez, composer, conductor and professor of aesthetics at the University of Texas at Dallas. The opera has had more than 1,000 performances since its premiere in 1987, making it one of the most often performed contemporary American operas in the repertory.

“Monkey See, Monkey Do was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had at MSU,” said Raphael Jimenez, assistant professor of conducting, associate conductor of MSU Orchestras, and director of the Latin American Music Series. “We presented the show for 600 students from the public schools in the morning, and we performed it again the same evening. Many kids came back with their parents to see the show again resulting in the most diverse audience ever for an opera performance since I have been at MSU. I am sure for many of them it was the first time they attended an opera. The reaction was fantastic since the opera connects very well with audiences of all ages.”

Based on a Mexican folk tale, the opera quotes several folk tunes well known to the audience like “The Mexican Hat Dance” and “The Clapping Dance.”

The MSU Latin American Music Series, which began in fall 2003, showcases a variety of the best samples of what’s happening today in classical Latin American Music, incorporating Latin dance rhythms, folk and pop.