“It’s unusual for women to lead opera houses,” says EstefaniacAviles. Her classical and opera singing experience in Italy, Spain and Budapest prompts her to say this, although she notes that Mexico is something of an exception (with Maria Katzarava’s appointment as artistic director of the Compania Nacional de Opera).
And Aviles plans to make Mexico more of an exception with her upcoming artistic direction of the Puccini opera “La Bohème” in Guadalajara’s Teatro Degollado on Saturday, October 5, 7 p.m.
Prime Donne (from Italian, meaning First Women) is the opera house Aviles founded in 2022 upon returning to her hometown of Guadalajara after 12 years in Europe. All the company’s directorial roles are filled by women, although obviously not all the singing roles.
Grace Echauri, considered a consummate musician, will conduct and ensemble. (She has directed the Orquesta Filarmonica de Jalisco, among others.)
And the well-known Karla Constantini will handle stage direction and choreography, and may bring surprises, Aviles notes. (Previous Prime Donne opera productions used contemporary costumes and performed acrobatic snippets from the theater aisles.)
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