Oralia Castro (Mezzosoprano), Wendy García (Soprano) and Jorge Mejía (Trumpet), were the special guests for the Pascua Barroca concert, a Musical Celebration with the musical accompaniment of the Camerata Mazatlán, presented at the Ángela Peralta Theater within the programming of Spring Season 2023.
Organized by the Instituto de Cultura, Turismo y Arte de Mazatlán, the concert was conducted by guest director, maestro Gordon Campbell.
After her success in the opera “Aida” presented at the Pablo de Villavicencio Theater in Culiacán, Oralia Castro came to the Ángela Peralta Theater to perform Stabat Matter by G. Pergolesi.
We interviewed Oralia Castro regarding her participation in the Pascua Barroca Concert and this is what she said:
A special program that emanates and transmits spirituality.
“Of course, yes, a work of great respect, especially because it is sacred music, music that already has a very deep text and that deserves the spirituality of all musicians.”
The degree of difficulty of interpretation for these works?
Well, it is an enormous degree of difficulty, however, with study, discipline and above all with a lot of heart, since we will now will be presenting it tonight.
What we are going to hear today is the product of how many years or how long?
Actually, it’s months of in-depth study of the score, but personally I’ve been working on my career for 18 years, only 18 years (smiles happily) addressing the repertoire of singing, opera and on this occasion, well, sacred music, music that we respect Vivaldi, we respect Pergolesi and it is an honor to be in this wonderful theater and enjoy Mazatlán, its music, its singers and this work that is always a delight to listen to.
Wendy García (Soprano) with a wide and recognized career also spoke to us about the work and the importance of presenting it these days.
I see her happy, I see her safe and very lively. What has her like this?
It’s the program, it’s the theater, making music with friends, coming to Mazatlán again, everything, it’s a magical night.
For those of us who don’t know much about what you do, what is the work you are performing today?
Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater is an oratorio, and extracts from other oratorios, which is “Gloria” by Vivaldi and Bach, one of his cantatas and since the main Stabat Mater speaks of the crucifixion of Christ, but from the point of view of the virgin , of a mother full of pain who observes how her son is perishing at the hands of man.
A high commitment to convey a message and a vibration to the public due to the theme…
That’s right, especially on these dates of reflection, on these dates that bring us very close to spirituality, to contact with the divine and it is an opportunity and a perfect pretext to be able to get closer to that spiritual side.
What message does it provide for the public and for the opportunity to appreciate this music?
I believe that music is an experience that has to be lived in first person, recordings help, but it will always be better to listen to music live, receive the music directly from the performers, and know a little about the context, although really that Music is so beautiful that simply if you open your heart, your ears, it will touch you, and you will enjoy it.
Jorge Mejía, concert trumpet player, also reappeared on the stage of the Ángela Peralta Theater and commented on his intervention:
“I am very grateful for the invitation, now by maestro Gordon, to do this Bach cantata 51, which is certainly from the same period where the previous music was written that I played together with maestro Otto Sauter, who is a specialist in that area who has been my teacher for several years, and now with cantata 51, which is another piece from that same period with the piccolo trumpet, a very respectable trumpet, because it is the difficult one to master.
Bach’s Cantata 51 is a very joyful work. We are going to play the first movement, where it is an interaction with the soprano and the trumpet that was written is precisely in the solo part for these two, the soprano and the piccolo trumpet.
Regarding his opinion, so that the public can come to appreciate these pieces, he added the following: “Without a doubt, you have to dare, personally I am a musician for having attended a concert at my high school there in Guadalajara for the first time, where I am from. I was so fascinated by that experience that at that moment I decided that this was going to be my professional life, that is what I would dedicate my life to, here at Camerata Mazatlán we are doing a great job, without a doubt always in an effort to obtain more Mazatlan audiences, Although many times we have a foreign public, the reality is that we would very much like to have with public from Mazatlan.
