Tune in HERE on April 3 at 6:00 p.m. PST.
Join composer Nicolas Lell Benavides, librettist Marella Martin Koch, and the complete original cast for the online premiere of Pepito, a new comic opera.
Praised for their ability to craft “complete characters in swift, sure lines” (Anne Midgette, The Washington Post), Benavides and Martin Koch were introduced by the American Opera Initiative at Washington National Opera. Pepito, which premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is their first joint commission.
This Friday, for the first-time, viewers will have the opportunity to stream an exclusive behind-the-scenes recording shot by award-winning filmmaker Maggie Beidelman and audio engineer Zach Miley.
Pepito is a story of love, family, and identity set in an animal shelter. Sparks fly when Pepito, a forgotten shelter dog with a big heart, meets Camila and David, a young couple searching for the perfect addition to their family. A shared fluency in Spanish draws Pepito and Camila closer, but David and Angie, the harried shelter manager, question whether or not they are ready for the changes Pepito will bring.
With bass Samuel Weiser as Pepito, soprano Alexandra Nowakowski as Camila, tenor Joshua Blue as David, and mezzo-soprano Alexandra Christoforakis Dixon as Angie, the premiere, directed by Andrea Dorf McGray, received universal critical acclaim.
Stream will be on Nicolas Lell Benavides’s official artist page (runtime less than 30 min). Following the online premiere, the video will also be available for one week on YouTube.
And pre-order the album HERE.