Opera Southwest brings the iconic masked vigilante 'Zorro' to the stage

Cesar Delgado is "Zorro." (Courtesy of Lance W. Ozier)

Complete with his black sombrero, cape and swordplay, Zorro is dashing vigilante who defends the commoners and Indigenous people of California. On Oct. 23, the caped crusader sweeps into Albuquerque in an Opera Southwest world premiere. Penned by composer Hector Armienta of OSW's 2018 "Bless Me, Ultima," the opera is a combustion of sword fights, romance and adventure. "The reason we wanted to do it was because the composer wrote 'Bless Me, Ultima,' " said Anthony Barrese, OSW conductor. "That was by far the best-selling opera in Opera Southwest history. We had to add a performance." The opera's contract with the National Hispanic Cultural Center to create a Spanish-language piece annually also served as an incentive. "We wanted something that most people are familiar with," Barrese added. Zorro (Spanish for fox) first appeared in the 1919 novel "The Curse of Capistrano" by American pulp fiction writer Johnston McCulley. The author set his story in the Pueblo de Los Angeles in Alta California. Zorro has a high bounty on his head, but he's too skilled and cunning for the bumbling authorities to catch. He also delights in publicly humiliating them. He frequently wields his rapier, which he uses to carve the initial "Z" on his defeated foes and other objects. The character's first film adaptation came in 1920 with "The Mark of Zorro" starring Douglas Fairbanks. Zorro also appears in more than 40 films and 10 TV series, the most recent being 2005's "The Legend of Zorro" starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. "If it has ever been made into an opera, I don't know," Barrese said. "It is very action-packed," he explained. "There's a lot of sword fights in this opera. It opens up with a sword fight. We're working with a fight choreographer for the first time in memory." The opera also features a love triangle. "One of the women who loves Zorro is half-Indigenous," Barrese said. "Zorro is basically standing up for the people who can't defend themselves." The music is both dramatic and lush, he added. "It has a real flamenco flair sometimes. It was workshopped in Fort Worth a few years ago. It also has a beautiful MGM, 1940s movie feel to it with a real Latin flamenco feel to it. It has arias; it has duets. Expect flouncy flamenco dresses for the women and plenty of black for the men. Director Octavio Cardenas, who staged "Bless Me, Ultima," Salvatore Sciarrino's "Lohengrin" and Astor Piazzolla's "Maria de Buenos Aires" with OSW, will return for "Zorro." Acclaimed Mexican-born tenor César Delgado is Zorro; mezzo-soprano Stephanie Sanchez sings the role of Carlotta.