Florida Grand Opera Presents Almuerze & Arturo Chacón-Cruz
International singer, recording artist, and star of Florida Grand Opera’s Tosca, Mexican tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz, will sit down in a live Spanish-language chat with award-winning author, critic, and cultural promoter Gerardo Kleinburg. The two friends and countrymen will discuss Chacón-Cruz’s remarkable career, voice, and appearance as Cavaradossi in FGO’s upcoming production of Tosca.
Arturo Chacón-Cruz & Gerardo Kleinburg
“We love our incredibly rich South Florida Spanish-speaking community and our many Spanish-speaking audience members, and we are always looking for ways to highlight the talent and appreciation for great art that exists right here in South Florida,” says Susan T. Danis, FGO General Director and CEO. “We feel incredibly lucky to have an artist like Arturo not only on our stage, but living in our community, and we’re thrilled to have a journalist of Gerardo’s status to interview him.”
Arturo Chacón-Cruz, a native of Sonora, Mexico, is considered one of the top operatic tenors of his generation. He has sung over 60 leading roles in 30 countries, including The Duke in Rigoletto (Houston, Verona, Mexico City, Napoli, Budapest, Hamburg, Strasbourg, Aix en Provence, San Francisco, Verona, Brussels, Los Angeles, Florence), Rodolfo in La bohème (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Miami, Munich, Stockholm, Graz, Cologne, Hamburg, etc.), and Alfredo in La traviata (Seville, Munich, Valencia, Moscow, Rome, Barcelona, Padova, Mexico City, Washington D.C., Detroit, Los Angeles, Verona, Oman). His appearance in FGO’s Tosca is his second turn as Cavaradossi. He has an extensive discography, including an album of mariachi music, a Christmas album, and a solo recording of Mexican music. Film appearances include Sofia Coppola’s La traviata and Woody Allen’s Gianni Schicchi. Chacón-Cruz is fluent in in Spanish, English, Italian, and French and also speaks German, Portuguese, Russian, and Greek. He lives in Miami with his wife and son.
Gerardo Kleinburg is an award-winning writer, music critic, cultural promoter and biochemist. He was the first non-European and Spanish critic to be awarded the Salzburg Festival International Music Critic Prize, the youngest and longest-running General and Artistic Director of México’s National Opera House, and has been anchor for more than 20 years on Escenarios, México’s only TV program devoted to opera and classical music. He is the only Mexican educator to regularly offer talks about opera for young audiences in public schools and remote places where opera is practically unknown. “Hablemos de Ópera”, his digital platform to promote and teach opera, has 35,000 followers all around the world and includes numerous lectures, talks and conversations with major international opera stars. Kleinburg’s books include Tríptico (tres actos en una ópera), No honrarás a tu padre and Éxtasis, una novela en siete cápsulas.
The Spanish-language discussion takes place on Friday, March 10, 2023 from 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. via Zoom and will be recorded for later posting on the FGO website. Viewers may submit questions for Chacón-Cruz or Kleinburg in advance by emailing csadler@fgo.org. The chat is free, but participants must register in advance by clicking the banner on the home page at fgo.org. Chacón-Cruz stars in Puccin’s Tosca with Toni Marie Palmertree and Todd Thomas March 18 – 21 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and April 13 and 15 at the Broward Center for Performing Arts. Tickets are available at fgo.org or by calling 800.741.1010.
WHO: Florida Grand Opera WHAT: Free live Spanish-language chat with Mexican tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz and cultural promoter Gerardo Kleinburg. WHEN: Friday, March 10, 2023 12:00 – 12:45 pm. WHERE: Via Zoom. Register at fgo.org.
WHY: Arturo Chacon-Cruz, Mexico and South Florida’s reigning tenor opera star, will discuss his international career and upcoming performance as Cavaradossi in FGO’s Tosca in a special Spanish-language chat with award-winning critic, writer, and cultural promoter Gerardo Kleinburg.