A ‘Proud’ Debut on an Illustrious NYC Stage for Maryland Opera Studio
At Theater That Premiered ‘Hamilton,’ Student Singers Tell Story of Controversial Mexican Leader
Chris Alfonso M.M. '25 (center) plays the controversial Mexican leader known as Santa Anna in "Orgullo!", an opera commissioned for the Maryland Opera Studio that will make its New York City debut this weekend, at the renowned Public Theater.
Photo courtesy of Maryland Opera Studio
The life of Antonio López de Santa Anna, the infamous Mexican leader and military general commonly known as Santa Anna, could be described as operatic. He shifted allegiances regularly, held the presidency 11 times, presided over the loss of Texas to the United States and led a disastrous effort to get it back, staged a state funeral for his amputated leg, was exiled to Staten Island and, somewhere along the way, helped invent chewing gum.
The University of Maryland School of Music’s Maryland Opera Studio (MOS) is bringing the story of Santa Anna to musical life with “Orgullo!,” a commissioned opera that debuted in College Park in February. On Sunday, the students of MOS will take the production to a bigger stage, with two performances at New York City’s Public Theater, the prestigious off-Broadway venue where iconic shows like “Hair,” “A Chorus Line” and “Hamilton” opened.
“To be able to take this piece, which is operatic singing, into this legendary musical theater space is just proof that opera belongs in these spaces,” said Corinne Hayes, interim director of MOS.
The origin of “Orgullo!” sounds like the setup to a joke: A production manager runs into a composer and librettist on the street. That’s what happened when Ashley Pollard, MOS studio manager, met composer Christian De Gré Cárdenas and librettist Joseph Reese Anderson at last year’s Opera America Conference in Pittsburgh. Cárdenas mentioned that he was looking for “up-and-coming opera singers to work on a piece for him,” said Pollard, who suggested he partner with MOS for the organization’s yearly commission.
“Orgullo!,” which means “pride” in Spanish and is sung in both that language and English, is a biting comedy. “The composer and librettist use … very broad, satirical comedy that all of a sudden turns, and you’re left with the detritus of the thing you were just laughing at being quite horrible and having a real human toll,” Hayes said.
Santa Anna died in 1876 at age 82 yet remains a disputed topic in Mexico. “Depending on who you learn your history from, this guy is a hero or he’s a villain,” said Hayes. Though he oversaw important military victories in the Mexican state of Veracruz, he was an authoritarian on-and-off president and was reviled for selling more than half of the nation’s territory during the annexation of Texas and the Gadsden Purchase, when the U.S. acquired what is now parts of Arizona and New Mexico.
“In some parts of Mexico, the name Santa Anna is almost like ‘bogeyman,’” said Chris Alfonso M.M. ’25, who sings the part of the general in “Orgullo!” “In the score, he’s this prideful, cartoonish character—he believes in himself and thinks of himself as this great, fearless leader, but he’s ultimately ignorant to the needs of the people.”
“Orgullo!” turns this complicated history into toe-tapping, hummable music, said Hayes. “There are moments that are really serious … but some of it is just playful and fun and incredibly tuneful,” she said. (An embodied version of Santa Anna’s amputated leg is one of the characters.)
The opera’s debut at the Public Theater represents the widest reach yet for an MOS-commissioned production. “The theater debuts so many huge, influential works,” said Kat Norman M.M. ’25, who plays Santa Anna’s wife, Maria. “I get to say that I was a part of a show that was touched by this theater. I’m just so thankful and excited.”
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