The cast of an opera onstage surrounded by trees projected in the background.

The cast of FLORENCIA EN EL AMAZONAS. Photo credit: Eric Waters

RALEIGH, NC – Have you ever dreamed of the creatures that lie beneath the Amazonian rivers and within their thick brushes and trees? Perhaps there are large sleeping cats on the grass and small but powerful butterflies in the air, and perhaps the water speaks its own language and possesses a sort of mystical magic. It’s all renowned opera singer Florencia Grimaldi can think about…

North Carolina Opera‘s opening night of Florencia en el Amazonas, written by composer Daniel Catán and librettist Marcela Fuentes-Berain, was a thrilling success. Residents of all ages flocked to Downtown Raleigh’s Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts to see the story of Florencia Grimaldi come to life on stage. It was wonderful to see the theater full of patrons, with almost every seat filled. This evening was a special one, as members from the Diamante Arts and Cultural Center were present in support of the production.

Seven unlikely strangers board a steamboat down the Amazon River not knowing each other. Along the way, they learn tough lessons about the meaning of love, through the mystical power of Mother Nature.

A close up of a woman singing onstage

Elaine Alvarez brought passion to the role of Florencia Grimaldi. Photo credit: Eric Waters

Each of the seven key characters is on the boat for very different reasons. Renowned opera singer Florencia Grimaldi (Elaine Alvarez), who remains in disguise, wishes to find her long-lost lover who ran to the Amazonian forest to hunt butterflies. She abandoned him, but wishes to make amends through song. Rosalba is a journalist who clutches her notebook tight as she boards the steamboat. Her only wish? To meet Florencia and show her written life’s work. Paula (Kate Farrar) and Alvaro (Levi Hernandez) are an older, bickering couple only wishing to escape life’s hectic patterns on a trip together and maybe learn how to fall in love with each other again. The captain (Ricardo Lugo) and his nephew, Arcadio (Jason Karn), are sailing together, which is one’s dream and the other’s worst nightmare.

Two singers, a man and a woman, onstage.

Alvaro and Paula (Levi Hernandez and Kate Farrar) share an embrace. Photo credit: Eric Waters

This is a story of love: the way love finds you and leaves you, the different types of love, the disguising of love as pride, how love can be fearful, or how love may just be the feeling of butterflies in your stomach. This is also a story of mystique. The audience never really knows if a lot of things are real – is Florencia’s lover even real? Do the natural elements in this story have magical powers, and does Florencia’s love play a part in that?

This was certainly a small but mighty cast! Holding it together like glue were the 15 ensemble members who portrayed the Amazon River. Dressed in all-white tight body suits, the ensemble slinked onto the stage and lay on the ground for the entirety of the show (2 hours), moving their limbs like the ripples of water. No matter how simple and easy this task looked, this was quite an impressive feat! It’s unclear if every production across the world utilizes physical bodies to act as the water, but this was a brilliant decision and execution by director John Hoomes. This clever decision also aided in the audience’s understanding of just how “alive” the water actually was in the story.

A man singing onstage

Richard Ollarsaba brought mystery to the stage through the many roles of his character Riolobo. Photo credit: Eric Waters

Two men onstage.

The Captain and his nephew Arcadio, portrayed by Ricardo Lugo and Jason Karn. Photo credit: Eric Waters

A woman onstage

Marlen Nahhas as the journalist Rosalba. Photo credit: Eric Waters

Aside from the impressive ensemble, the story’s key seven characters owned the stage and captivated everyone from the first minute until the last hour. The first character the audience is introduced to remains quite a mystery throughout the entirety of the opera. Riolobo (Richard Ollarsaba) serves as a handful of important characters in the show – the narrator, part of the ship’s crew, and the voice of the water. Two standouts include Paula and Rosalba (Marlen Nahhas), who both gave a compelling and emotional performance of their complicated characters. Through Paula, the audience could feel love as loss and pride, and through Rosalba, the audience could feel love as wavering fear. The two encapsulated the story’s message of what love means perfectly. They also had a handful of comedic moments, featuring an iguana for dinner, that drove the storyline forward and added a new level of life that the other characters did not bring onstage.

The curtains open on a simple set that remains consistent throughout both acts. A long, elevated surface with ropes runs the length of the stage and acts as the steamboat’s upper deck. In the center, the captain’s helm is positioned and one set of tables and chairs appears periodically. Otherwise, the set is imagined through the images that project on the stage’s cyc. Moving images of trees, water, butterflies, and Florencia’s lover himself appear behind the stage, giving patrons an extra hand when trying to visualize the more challenging elements. This was another clever idea by the director, but I would have loved to see some other physical set pieces being used to represent the steamboat onstage.

A woman singing with a backdrop of butterfly wings

Projections in the set design brought the Amazon’s butterflies to life. Photo credit: Eric Waters

One major flaw was in Florencia’s costume design. From the moment she steps onto the steamboat, she is described in the program as being in disguise. However, we see her wearing a simple white dress with pinned-up curls throughout the story. To better aid this part of the narrative, a shawl or headscarf could have been used as protection of Florencia’s identity. Another small flaw was the inability to tell time throughout the story. How may days had it been since the ship departed Colombia? This question could have been better answered with the changing of costumes for each character in every other scene.

The epic love story of Florencia Grimaldi teaches us many things. One, nature is a lot more powerful than one might think and one cannot control Mother Earth, it can only control us; two, it’s important to take care of one another and to take care of the Earth because one day you just might need it to save you. Third, love is complicated – and the word has no true definition.

These are certainly timely messages to remember.

If you’re looking to support local art and spend the evening immersed in culture with your family, Florencia en el Amazonas is the clear choice this weekend. Aside from the captivating and unique story, if you’re searching for yet another reason to make the trip to Downtown Raleigh, this opera is incredibly kid-friendly. The opera’s runtime is only two hours, compared to some operas that run closer to four hours, and the show’s use of colors and funny characters keeps kids easily entertained and focused.

Florencia en el Amazonas runs through Sunday, February 2, 2025 – buy tickets and read more here.