Latino Audience Development Initiative

    Audience Development & CDP Program

Recent studies show that by 2020 the Latino population will account for 20% of the Greater Philadelphia area. In addition, a recent report released by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance revealed that these Spanish-speaking communities have the highest rate of cultural engagement among all other demographics; however, they are among the lowest in engagement in opera.  Center City Opera Theater recognizes the importance of celebrating the vibrancy and cultural richness of the Latino Community.In May 2012, CCOT performed the East Coast Premiere of Il Postino, an opera by Mexican-born composer Daniel Catán.  Daniel Catán was primarily responsible for bringing  Spanish-language opera into the contemporary American repertoire.  His sudden death in April 2011 was a tragic blow to the opera world, and inspired CCOT to pay homage to his efforts.

The Daniel Catán Prize has been established by the Center City Opera Theater to add Hispanic composers and librettists to the list of CCOT’s works-in-development (Creative Projects), and present a world premiere Spanish-language opera in Philadelphia within the next several years. The prize is meant to honor an opera professional of Hispanic background, whose work demonstrates exceptional creativity and originality and speaks to contemporary and universal themes.  The prize is inspired by Daniel Catán’s commitment to fostering new talent in the musical arts and is intended to spotlight a new generation creative professionals whose work has not yet been widely recognized. CCOT will administer the prize with the support and cooperation of the Catán family, which has established a foundation to honor the composer’s legacy and promote his works.  Daniel’s widow, Andrea Puente, is enthusiastic about CCOT’s plans to honor her late husband and has agreed to serve on the honorary committee charged with selecting the recipient of the Catán Prize.

Production of Daniels Catán’s Other Operas

Over the next few years, CCOT plans to present Catán’s three other major operas, all of them Spanish.   The company will also explore the possibility of offering Catán’s final opera, the unfinished Meet John Doe, written entirely in English, which the composer considered his operatic masterpiece.Following is the list of Daniel Catán’s three other major operas, in chronological order:~Rappaccini’s Daughter (1991) based on a Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story, with a libretto by Nobel Laureate and fellow Mexican writer Octavio Paz; ~Florencia en el Amazonas (1996), inspired by the novel by Nobel Laureate and Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marques, Love in the Time of Cholera; ~Salsipuedes, a Tale of Love, War, and Anchovies (2004), based on work by Cuban poet, Eliseo Diego.

Despite the growing size of the Hispanic community in the Greater Philadelphia area and the dynamism of the community’s business, social, and cultural activities, attendance at opera performances is very limited.  CCOT has refocused its outreach efforts to demonstrate how opera is relevant to this community and reveal how their stories can be brought to the opera stage.  Lacking the resources to educate and engage these new audiences, CCOT became members  of the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GPHCC).  The GPHCC is a non-profit organization which advocates  the development and economic growth of Latino businesses and professionals in the community.  With the help of members of the GPHCC, CCOT strives to become an active creator and influencer within the Latino community.  GPHCC envisions that that their voice will be a “major force of positivity” in the Latin community and CCOT hopes to echo their call by promoting Latino participation in opera.

CCOT’S Creative Development Projects are nurtured from initial concept to a fully-staged production and given the chance to grow in a risk-free environment.  Through a series of workshops, both public and private, the composer and librettist who are awarded the contracts will have the opportunity to evolve their idea and their opera come to fruition.We aim to utilize both our commitment to new opera and the Hispanic Community by commissioning a new opera in Spanish from a member of the local Latino community.  The composer and librettist of this new work will receive Creative Development contracts, and will have the opportunity to work with the company’s team of professionals and Young Artists to develop the opera for its world premiere on stage.