In a rare processional opera, co-creators Paola Prestini, Magos Herrera, and director Louisa Proske deliver to life the story of Sor Juana, a Seventeenth-century proto-feminist nun whose insatiable thirst for information usually positioned her at odds with highly effective males—and even her personal sharp mind. Whereas lots of Sor Juana’s mental and political struggles may simply be the fabric for an opera, Primero Sueño particularly illuminates her artistic course of as a radical act. She overcame her doubts by envisioning that her work would resonate by time, and Prestini and Herrera honor this imaginative and prescient as a testomony to her triumph, particularly in opposition to those that as soon as burned her writings.
On this poignant narrative, it’s becoming that Prestini and Herrera delve into Sor Juana’s endeavor to write down her magnum opus, the poem Primero Sueño. Audre Lorde famously articulated, “For girls, poetry just isn’t a luxurious. It’s a very important necessity of our existence… Poetry is the best way we assist give identify to the anonymous in order that it may be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our every day lives.” Certainly, the expertise is carved from rock.
The efficiency is uniquely staged at The Met Cloisters, a museum constructed from 4 European constructions, perched excessive on a hill in Manhattan. Ruled by the Metropolitan Museum of Artwork, The Cloisters showcases 5,000 artistic endeavors from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries. Its structure parallels Sor Juana’s emotional and mental journey, and beneath the glow of 1000’s of electrical candles, Herrera and Prestini infused up to date magic into the centuries-old stones.

Primero Sueño at The Cloisters — Photograph by Jill Steinberg
The efficiency begins with the ethereal German vocal ensemble Sjaella, cloaked in white silk robes, main the viewers into the primary scene. Right here, we meet Sor Juana in her examine, engrossed in writing Primero Sueño, accompanied by the nun refrain. What seems to be an odd day is quickly interrupted by a foreboding imaginative and prescient that stirs doubts about her quest. As Sor Juana vehemently battles an Archbishop for her rights to information and scholarship, her inside battle intensifies, caught between oppositions reminiscent of sleep/loss of life, heaven/earth, and information/hubris—all embodied by visions of Greek, Roman, and Mexica deities that dance by The Cloisters.
In solitude, Sor Juana prays to the Virgin Mary, which ushers in a waking dream the place she confronts her unfulfilled aspirations. Right here, Herrera delivers a gut-wrenching efficiency of Prestini’s shifting aria. Sor Juana, feeling defeated, contemplates abandoning her poetic endeavor, solely to obtain one final apparition within the Cloisters’ largest chapel that reorients her perspective towards legacy and reshapes her understanding of the afterlife. Accompanying her journey, dancer Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson represents The Archbishop, Phaeton, and Quetzalcoatl, expertly grounding the dreamlike components together with his beautiful choreography and affiliate course.

Jorrell Lawyer-Jefferson as Quetzalcoatl — Photograph by Jill Steinberg
The opera’s primarily choral and Baroque rating additional enhanced the contemplative ambiance. The emotional depth and vivid contrasts typical of Baroque music served as an excellent backdrop for the drama. Reflecting Sor Juana’s multifaceted character, Prestini’s orchestration blends folks, jazz, classical choral, and delicate digital music right into a lush and cohesive soundscape that resonates all through The Cloisters. The musical journey is buoyed by the voices of the ensemble, complemented by the devices performed by Luca Tarantino (theorbo) and Celso Duarte (Paraguayan harp, Mexican jarocho harp, charango, and hand percussion). Herrera, acknowledged as one of many premier jazz and improvisational vocalists, actually shines in Prestini’s dynamic compositions.
A substantial portion of the inventive and advisory staff hail from Latin America and Mexico and have enriched the opera with their experience throughout a wide range of fields, together with authorities, NGOs, museum curation, scholarship, publishing, and the humanities. Due to this various cultural enter, Primero Sueño efficiently presents Sor Juana as a contemporary feminist icon whereas staying true to historic authenticity. Carried out fully in Spanish, the opera options English subtitles projected all through the efficiency, creating an immersive linguistic expertise. This, mixed with the Mexican Baroque music and mythology, alerts that Sor Juana just isn’t adapting to us; quite, we’re embracing her profound knowledge.

Magos Herrera as Sor Juana — Photograph by Jill Steinberg
By Proske’s course, the Cloisters’ design is absolutely utilized because it guides the viewers by distinct areas, striving to duplicate Sor Juana’s sense of interior freedom in addition to the exterior limitations she confronted. Greater than the labyrinthine corridors, it’s the doorways that function symbols of Sor Juana’s journey. Harmless arches rework into gateways of Dying, whereas small stone openings provide voyeuristic glimpses for the viewers; unremarkable frames open the door to Misogyny, and grand Nice Corridor doorways reveal apparitions. The inventive imaginative and prescient is additional complemented by David Herrera’s animated sculptures and masks, Andrea Lauer’s costumes and wearable expertise, and Jorge Cousineau’s fascinating texts and projections, all of which create hanging contrasts to the Eurocentric museum backdrop by vibrant feathers, kinetic wire sculptures, and luminescent heartpieces.
The processional and site-specific points of the work introduced vital logistical challenges. The cellular lighting and projection groups, directed by Jiyoun Chang and Jorge Cousineau respectively, together with viewers guides, remained energetic all through the efficiency as varied areas had been repeatedly employed. With the fourth wall successfully dismantled, it was refreshing to witness the manufacturing staff’s contributions as an integral a part of the expertise.
Imagining a conventional proscenium staging of Primero Sueño appears nearly unattainable. Future performances might want to thoughtfully contemplate tailor every new immersive atmosphere in a fashion that illuminates Sor Juana’s quiet energy with out overshadowing her narrative. The setting and sonic panorama labored in concord, sustaining cohesion even amid the fragmented telling of her story. Finally, the efficiency invitations us to expertise the span of Sor Juana’s struggles; we journey alongside her, and, ultimately, Sor Juana triumphantly breaks into our lives.
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