Before Night Falls to Become An Opera

Before Night Falls to Become An Opera

FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fort Worth Opera announces that it will produce a world premiere opera as part of its 2010 Festival. The opera, Before Night Falls, is by Jorge Martin, a Cuban-American composer relatively new to the operatic stage; Before Night Falls will be his first major world premiere. The opera is based on the memoir of the same title by Reinaldo Arenas, a Cuban poet, novelist and playwright who was an outspoken critic of Fidel Castro's regime. In addition to composing the music, Martin also wrote the libretto with the help of Dolores M. Koch, a personal friend of Arenas and the Spanish-to-English translator for several of his books, including Before Night Falls.

Before Night Falls will premiere in Fort Worth, Texas at Bass Performance Hall, considered to be one of the top opera houses in the world, in the spring of 2010. Exact performance dates and ticket information have not yet been announced.

About the composer/librettist, Jorge Martin (1959- ): Jorge Martin was born in Santiago de Cuba. In 1965 Martin's family fled Cuba and eventually settled in the U.S. He attended Yale College and earned master's and doctoral degrees in music composition from Columbia University. He writes in all major genres. More information about Jorge Martin can be found on his website: www.jorgemartin.com.

About Before Night Falls: The opera Before Night Falls is based on the real life story of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, beginning with his teen-aged decision to join Fidel Castro's revolution. After Castro comes into power and begins oppressing the people he promised to free, Reinaldo begins a quiet rebellion of his own through his writings. To avoid negative publicity for imprisoning Reinaldo for exercising free speech, Castro's regime instead arrests him for being gay. He suffers greatly and comes close to giving up, but his love for his country and his art keep him going. He manages to escape to the United States, where he continues to fight for a free Cuba. Having completed his memoir and tiring of the physical and emotional toll of AIDS, Reinaldo commits suicide.

CONTACT AND PHOTOS: Photos of Jorge Martin, Bass Performance Hall and Darren K. Woods are currently posted online at www.fwopera.org, under "Press." CONTACT Diane Rhodes Bergman at 817.269.9795 or diane@fwopera.org for the password, or for more information. Para Espanol: Martha Sotelo at 817.731.0833 ext. 28 or martha@fwopera.org.

Source: Fort Worth Opera

CONTACT: Diane Rhodes, +1-817-269-9795 mobile, diane@fwopera.org, or
Para Espanol: Martha Sotelo, +1-817-731-0833 ext.28, martha@fwopera.org, both
of Fort Worth Opera

Web Site: http://www.fwopera.org/
http://www.jorgemartin.com/

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