Glimmerglass Offers a Glimpse into the Art of Making an Opera

BY MONICA CALZOLARI
COOPERSTOWN

Friday, July 18 was the world premiere of “The House on Mango Street” at The Glimmerglass Festival. The opera is based on the novel by Sandra Cisneros of the same name, which has sold 8 million copies since 1983.

This was the first novel Cisneros, age 70, ever wrote. More than 100 admirers came to the Pipeline Talk prior to the premiere to meet the author and composer Derek Bermel, with whom Cisneros collaborated to bring her story to life.

Glimmerglass Artistic and General Director Rob Ainsley introduced the author and composer as well as Kelley Rourke, who has worked for The Glimmerglass Festival for more than 14 years as a dramaturg and translator.

A dramaturg is a behind-the-scenes resource for directors, actors, and playwrights, providing context, research, and feedback to help improve the quality or accuracy of a production.

This was Cisneros’ and Bermel’s first opera. Cisneros said she had no idea how much work was involved in preparing a novel for opera.

Bermel had originally popped the question to Cisneros, “Do you want to write an opera? She said yes immediately. Rourke and Ainsley were integral to the success of this collaboration.

Ainsley said, “When I read the libretto, I was very drawn to it.”

“We did not know what we were doing,” Cisneros admitted.

The COVID-19 pandemic gave Bermel, Cisneros and Rourke time to work on the project.

Cisneros, who now lives in Mexico, grew up in a Chicago neighborhood.

“I grew up with a father who spoke to me in Spanish,” she said. “My mother spoke to me in English.”
Her mother was of Mexican descent as well.

“I have a rebel of a Mom and a sweet, sensitive Dad,” Cisneros said.

“The House on Mango Street” is the story of the child of a Mexican immigrant told through the eyes of a girl named Esperanza. “Esperanza” means hope in Spanish.

During the question-and-answer period following the moderated discussion, Jennifer Trochez MacLean said, “I came all the way from Los Angeles to see this opera.”

Trochez MacLean is an elementary school teacher.

“I grew up in South Central Los Angeles,” she said. “My parents immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1960s. I grew up in an apartment. We would always dream about having a house of our own.”

Trochez MacLean said her neighborhood was “not an affluent” one.

“I can relate to the neighborhood Cisneros described as her neighborhood in Chicago,” she said.

She first met Cisneros when the author gave a lecture at Occidental College, where Trochez MacLean earned her degree.

“I have been following her on Instagram ever since. When she said she was working on an opera, I made a mental note that I would like to go to see it,” Trochez MacLean recalled.

Five LatinX came all the way from Chicago to see the premiere of this novel made into an opera.
Composer Bermel lives in New Jersey. He traveled to Cooperstown for the premiere.

“I grew up in New York,” Bermel said. “The characters reminded me of people in my neighborhood, even though I did not visit Chicago until I was 30 years old.”

He spoke about the universality of the messages in the novel and the libretto.

Rourke agreed—“I grew up in a very different neighborhood, but I think Esperanza is me!”

Cisneros smiled at this.

She said, “I hope this opera will introduce these characters to a new audience. These actors are on stage honoring the people in my book—people that would never ordinarily make it into an opera.”
“The world is very divisive right now,” she continued. “No immigrant story is the same.”

Cisneros said she hoped seeing the opera would help the audience to not lump all immigrants into one category.

When Ainsley asked the novelist and the composer about the art of making art, Cisneros said, “Writing is sacred, work meant to open our hearts.”

“I hope people can find a way in and feel empathy,” Bermel added.

Bermel is a three-time Grammy winner and the recipient of both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Fulbright Scholarship. He has also won an Academy Award for his musical composition, which Ainsley described as “eclectic.”

Bermel said the work of a composer as very solitary. He creates music and turns it over to the producer.

“I usually show up and take my bow. That’s the role of a composer,” he explained, whereas “opera is such a collaborative art form.”

Rourke said of “The House on Mango Street, “It is a kind of unconventional opera. It has a lot of vignettes.”

There are 56 characters in Cisneros’ novel, and 44 vignettes. Her story had to be condensed for the stage—the operatic version features 22 singers.

The Pipeline Talk ended with a performance by returning Resident Artist Kaylan Hernandez, a soprano. She sang the grand finale piece from the opera, titled “A House of My Own.”

The song brought tears to the eyes of Trochez MacLean. She said she achieved her dream of owning a house in LA once she married. Her father still lives in an apartment. Her mom passed away before she realized her dream of home ownership.