Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/17/2019
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Location
Sidney Harman Hall
Category(ies)
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FREE / RSVP, registration is required.
- Music by Jimmy López
- Libretto by Nilo Cruz
Featuring
- Philharmonia Orchestra
- Esa-Pekka Salonen – principal conductor, artistic advisor
- Ana María Martínez – soprano
- Volti and the UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus
East Coast premiere, simulcast from Zellerbach Hall at University of California, Berkeley
From the sanctuary city of Berkeley, California, to the sanctuary city of our nation’s capital, the powerhouse creative team of Jimmy López Bellido and Nilo Cruz and a roster of all-star performers debut a courageous work of wrenching, immediate relevance. The oratorio centers on the story of several so-called “dreamers,” immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and whose legal status is in jeopardy because their parents arrived in the U.S. undocumented. The soprano, chorus, and orchestra narrate the stories throughout six separate movements. The fictional story is based on true testimonies that Cuban-American Cruz and Peruvian-American López have collected from immigrants who have come to the U.S. in search of a better life.
Concert Program
Dreamers was created with funding from a Hewlett 50 Arts Commission, commissioned by Cal Performances at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-commissioned by Washington Performing Arts and others. This simulcast is presented in Washington in partnership with GALA Hispanic Theatre and Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School.
This performance is made possible in part through the generous support of Tom Gallagher, in honor of Turnaround, Inc., and Events DC. Washington Performing Arts orchestral performances in the 2018/19 season are made possible in part through the generous support of Betsy and Robert Feinberg.
Her Excellency Kirsti Kauppi, Ambassador of Finland, is the honorary patron of this engagement.
Expanding the Conversation
The premiere of Dreamers will be surrounded by several activities throughout the winter and spring, curated by the Mars Urban Arts Initiative in partnership with GALA Hispanic Theatre and Carlos Rosario Public Charter School. Explore varied perspectives on this timely issue through performances and conversations with a range of artists, advocates, and policy-makers:
- 1/28 – Latinx in D.C. Showcase: José André Trio on Millennium Stage
- 1/29 – Voices of Change on Millennium Stage
- 2/10 – Promised Lands? Of Leaving and Longing
- 3/16 – Cissa Paz Band
This performance is part of Washington Performing Arts’ global programming initiative, “The World in Our City,” which provides perspective on what it means to be a citizen of the world through a unique arts-based lens. For more on this initiative or explore #WorldInOurCity.