Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance
Website: www.panchovillaopera.com
Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance is a bilingual cross-border opera about the life and death the enigmatic general, legendary bandit and hero of the Mexican Revolution. Commissioned by Ballroom Marfa, the project is the third installment of The Marfa Triptych, a genre-hopping trilogy of musical performances by visionary composer Graham Reynolds. The opera is an insightful examination of the Mexican and Mexican-American impact on the culture and politics of West Texas, contributing to the current and timely conversation about borders and the limitations of the concept of delineated states.
Exploring facts from Villa's biography while also examining the mythology surrounding him, the opera will ask what Pancho Villa means to Mexican and American culture and where these meanings intersect and conflict. The opera brings together artistic collaborators from both sides of the river to engage in a borderless conversation about the shared history between Mexico and the United States,
Pancho Villa From a Safe Distance is the epic closing chapter in The Marfa Triptych and a rousing transnational collaboration that brings together Mexico City theater collective Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol as librettists, director Shawn Sides of Rude Mechs, Kronos Quartet lighting designer Brian Scott, Austin Lyric Opera tenor Paul Sanchez, mezzo-soprano Liz Cass, Grammy Award winning guitarist/producer Adrian Quesada, and backed by a stellar chamber ensemble with remixes by famed Monterrey DJ Toy Selectah.
Upcoming Shows
Not currently touring, but contact for availability!