Zorro
Origins of a Superhero at Opera San Jose
By: Victor Cordell - Apr 21, 2025
A score of years before the debut of Batman, the Caped Crusader, pulp writer Johnston McCulley introduced the character Zorro. Like the superhero who followed, Zorro came from privilege; protected those in need; disguised himself with an upper-face mask and headdress; and wore a cape. He also lived a conventional life outside of his disguise.
A pulp-fiction hero may seem an odd choice as an opera protagonist, but then again, consider some other central figures from operas that take place in Spanish locales – Figaro, a barber, and Carmen, a gypsy cigarette factory worker. But El Zorro, the fox, offers flair and drama that play fluidly into common operatic tropes.
Opera San Jose presents Zorro, and everything about the production is a delight. The music is a melodic pastiche of Romantic operatic idiom with strokes of mariachi, flamenco, and corrido (folk music). There is even the recurrence of an ominous two-note death motif from Carmen. The plot weaves love, selflessness, courage, betrayal, humor, and more among passionate and well-developed characters into a compelling narrative.
Singers and orchestra deliver admirable performances, and the scenic design and costumes create an ambiance to suit the place and time. Two languages are used in the libretto, which itself is not unusual. But when done, it is most common in opera that particular characters sing in their origin languages. In this case, characters switch back and forth within a dialog. Behind this device is the composer’s desire to use whichever language fits the specific musical phrases best. It should be noted that having a far greater number of open vowel sounds, Spanish is generally more suited to opera vocalizing than English.
With the opening swordfight scene, you might expect that you’re in for a swashbuckler. But while there is more well-choreographed swordfighting to come, this is really the origin story for Diego becoming Zorro, with the first famous slashes of the Z coming just before intermission.
The central social theme that relates to current times concerns discrimination. Diego’s former best friend, Moncada, is now mayor of Los Angeles in New Spain in the early 1800’s. He adopts policies to harass mestizos (mixed bloods), including Diego’s love interest, Ana Maria. Diego’s commitment to fairness and righteousness comes in the gripping “Justice has no color,” which begins as an aria and builds voice by voice to become a stirring quartet.
Lyric tenor Xavier Prado as Diego/Zorro is well suited to the role with a strong singing voice and personable yet assertive acting. Romantically, Diego loves Ana Maria, who is unrelated to him by blood but raised as his sister. Soprano Maria Brea’s beautiful tone finds many opportunities to excel, with one of the best examples for her and for Prado being the lovely duet “Abrazame” (“Embrace me”).
Along the way, complicated liaisons evolve. The always magnificently unforced and resonant baritone Eugene Brancoveanu plays the villain Moncada. He holds sway over the patrician Doña Carlota as a result of his political power, but she is in love with Diego. As the conflicted Carlota, mezzo-soprano Melisa Bonetti Luna shows her acting range in her complex relationships and her singing range in her well-sung, low tessitura lament. And though Carlota’s boorishness makes her an unappealing character at the outset, she evolves into something admirable.
Comic relief comes in the form of the couple Sergeant Gomez, portrayed by bass-baritone Jesús Vicente Murillo, and Luisa, performed by Arianna Rodriguez. Gomez is Moncada’s bumbling yet grounded gofer who can never do anything right in the eyes of his boss, but the spritely, dreamy Luisa thinks he has the bearing of a general. Both voices are attractive and true, and Rodriguez conquers the highest tessitura in the score with ease.
For composer Héctor Armienta, Zorro represents homecoming in more ways than one. Raised as an Angeleno, the story plays in the place of his youth. This production occurs in his artistic home. A resident of Oakland for two decades, he spawned Opera Cultura, a San Jose proponent of Latino musical arts, which was also a co-commissioner of the opera.
Virtually all aspects of the opera exceed expectation, with the exception of the flamenco. The sound of the shoes on the floor is too faint to produce any excitement, as is the rhythmic clapping. The scene feels like a throw-in, which if done, should be done with more flair. Also, in a couple of instances, singers are inaudible as they face too far away from the center of the audience or are positioned too far upstage.
Zorro, with music and libretto by Héctor Armienta, is a co-production by Opera San José, Kentucky Opera, and Arizona Opera, and plays at California Theater, 345 South First Street, San Jose, CA through May 4, 2025.