Written by Nana Owusu-Agyemang
Willimantic, Conn. ¬¬- Eastern Connecticut State University will host the chamber music theatre group Core Ensemble for a theatrical performance of the production, “Tres Vidas” (Three Lives) at 7 p. m. on Nov. 1 in Shafer Auditorium. The public is invited. Admission is free. Shafer Auditorium is in Shafer Hall, located at Valley and High Streets in Willimantic.
The Core Ensemble includes Tahirah Whittington on cello; Cyrus von Hochstetter on piano; and Michael Parola on percussion, accompanied by actress Roseanne Almanzar.
“Tres Vidas” celebrates the lives of three legendary Latin American women: Mexican painter Frida Kahlo; Salvadoran peasant activist Rufina Amaya; and Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni. The play involves music ranging from traditional Mexican folk and Argentine tango songs sung in Spanish to instrumental works by composers such as Astor Piazzolla and Osvaldo Golijov. Almanzar, who will portray the three legendary Latinas, portrays multiple characters while interacting with the onstage musical trio of cello, piano and percussion.
With storylines including Frida Kahlo’s dramatic and passionate relationship with painter Diego Rivera, Rufina Amaya’s survival of the massacre at El Mozote and Alfonsina Storni’s lifelong challenges as Argentina’s first great feminist poet, “Tres Vidas” presents dramatic situations, timeless in their emotional appeal and connection to audiences across all gender and ethnic spectrums.
Written by Chilean poet/writer Marjorie Agosin, “Tres Vidas” offers powerful portrayals of each woman, and includes the singing of traditional Mexican folk songs, as well as Argentinean popular and tango songs made famous by Mercedes Sosa and Carlos Gardel. Additional music by Astor Piazzolla, Orlando Garcia, Pablo Ortiz, Alice Gomez, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Michael DeMurga and Osvaldo Golijov round out the musical score.
The Core Ensemble has toured in Australia, England, Russia, Ukraine, the Caribbean and across the United States. “Tres Vidas” will tour the United States during Hispanic Heritage Month, performing in California, Washington, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Illinois, Connecticut and Maine. It receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts; State of Florida; the U.S. State Department; Florida State Division of Cultural Affairs; A.D. Henderson Foundation; the Florida Humanities Council; and the Palm Beach County Cultural Council.
For more information, please go to http://www.easternct.edu/mt-static/press_releases/2012/10/eastern-to-host-core-ensemble-for-tres-vidas-performance.html, call Ricardo Perez at (860) 465-0191 or e-mail: perezr@easternct.edu.
