MEDIATHEK

In Montevideo, in front of Buenos Aires, during the twenties (or in our days), La Raulito and Cachafaz (a transvestite and her protector, a former worker of the slaughterhouses) live miserably in a hovel. In spite of the hatred of the neighborhood and of the constant harassment by the corrupt police, they attempt to survive as they dream with a better future across the river. One day, they find an odd solution to their lack of food…

This brief introductory text to Argentinian composer Oscar Stranoy’s chamber opera Cachafaz (based in Argentinian writer Copi’s play) synthesizes, in its simplicity, but also in its implied mystery, the piece’s intensity and scope. Cachafaz is an example that opera is still possible nowadays. Its dramatic-musical text jeopardizes, in an absolutely contemporary way, the genre of opera. The idea of staging an opera out of the last work of the always controversial Copi is quite risky and perfectly appropriate at the same time. For starters, the original text is written in verse and set in a poor tenement house, with the neighbors acting as choir. In addition, the protagonists (Cachafaz -a decadent pimp-, la Raulito -his transvestite lover- and the corrupt policeman) stand completely apart from any traditional opera character, but, at the same time, they are built with great dramatic and musical intensity.

The Contemporary Music Festival of Teatro San Martín (Buenos Aires) presents each year the Argentinian premiere of a contemporary chamber opera. In this tradition, for its XVI Season, in November of 2012, the Festival produced as world premiere its own production of Strasnoy’s Cachafaz.

This version was staged by Pablo Maritano and included the participation of Ensemble 2e2m (France) under the conduction of Pierre Roullier, and the 16 piece choir Diapasón Sur, directed by Mariano Moruja. Two Argentinian opera singers renowned worldwide took the leading roles: Victor Torres and Pol González.

This production was a complete success in terms of audiences and critics, with the main newspapers in Argentina praising it as “excellent”. Cachafaz is performed in Spanish, with subtitles when necessary. The touring team includes the main cast (two singers), as well as the 16-piece choir and a reduced artistic and technical team. The role of the policeman, the ensemble, the musical direction and, eventually, also the choir, can be replaced by local artists at the country of performances, as long as a fitting rehearsal plan is agreed.