Lecturer in Music Sheila Willey is bringing Spanish-language opera to the stage. The upcoming Opera and Zarzuela Scenes performance on March 13, 2025 at the Music Center Recital Hall on campus, will bring a wider cultural look at the artform from several Spanish-speaking countries.
“For quite a while I’ve been wanting to explore operatic repertoire in the Spanish language,” says Willey. She credits her interest, in part, to her large Spanish-speaking surroundings. Over 10 million Californians speak Spanish and Chincanx/Latinx students make up over a quarter of UC Santa Cruz’s student body. Several people involved with the production have previously studied Spanish or are bilingual Spanish speakers, including Shirley Gomez-Mendez, a student manager for the class and one of the performers.
Zarzuela is a form of music-theater that originated in Spain and typically uses Castilian Spanish. It started in the 17th century and is heavily associated with Madrid. However, the upcoming performance also features operas from North and South America and spans the centuries, including some more contemporary pieces.
Exploring Zarzuela was not without its challenges for Willey and her students, some of whom don’t speak any Spanish. Unlike a full production which is cast to ensure voices match each part, this performance comes as part of a class taught by Willey, meaning she needed to find scenes that worked with the voices she was given, which this quarter largely consisted of sopranos.
“I really wanted to open the door for these students to see and get an inroad into Zarzuela,” says Willey. The scenes she chose are aimed at highlighting the undergraduate voices, by giving them material that they could handle while pushing them. Her goal is for her students to gain an understanding of the variety in opera’s repertoire.
Opera and Zarzuela Scenes, which Willey describes as more casual than the Music Department’s larger opera productions, will be free and open to the public. “It has been a pleasure to work on this material with these students this quarter – I’m really enjoying getting to study this music.”
March 13, 2025 – 5:00 PM
Music Center Recital Hall
UC Santa Cruz
400 McHenry Road
Santa Cruz, California 95064
Free and open to the public
Seats are first come first serve
Parking by permit, ParkMobile, or $5 cash/credit via the on-site parking attendant
Arts Lot #126 is the closest parking lot to the event