It’s been years in the making, but West Edge Opera is finally presenting the world premiere of “Dolores” — and the opera’s namesake, the renowned activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta, will be in the audience to experience her story on an operatic scale.
A West Edge Opera commission created by composer Nicolás Lell Benavides and librettist Marella Martin Koch, this new work traces the remarkable life of Huerta, who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, coined the phrase “Si se puede” (Yes we can), and has been a lifelong champion for workers’ rights. The West Edge production is directed by Octavio Cardenas and conducted by music director Mary Chun.
The “Dolores” opera — and a special opening night dinner with Huerta at a nearby restaurant — launches a West Edge season that also includes the rarely performed biblical tragedy “David and Jonathan” by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, helmed by West Edge General Director Mark Streshinsky, conducted by Adam Pearl, and featuring Aaron Sheehan and Derek Chester in the title roles (Aug. 3, 9 and 16); and Alban Berg’s “Wozzeck,” directed by Elkhanah Pulitzer, conducted by Jonathan Khuner, and featuring Hadleigh Adams in the title role (Aug. 9, 14, and 17.)
For Streshinsky, the “Dolores” project has been an extended labor of love. The company began preparing the opera after its first preview workshop performance as part of the company’s Aperture commissioning project; after company commissions and the orchestra preview in San Francisco’s Atrium Theater, it’s now making its official world premiere.
Today, says Streshinsky, the premiere feels timely. From the time Benavides and Koch suggested the opera, he said, it’s been almost five years and “a lot of people being dedicated to the project” – a project other companies were instantly interested in and became co-commissioners for. In many respects, he says, it’s an opera about resilience.
“It’s a piece that asks audiences how to move forward through losses and keep fighting the fight,” he said, adding that Huerta, now age 95, is the kind of leader whose work never flagged, “from civil rights during the 1968 Delano grape strike – a fight that led all the way to the White House.”
Soprano Kelly Guerra, singing the title role, agrees. “Dolores is such a beacon of hope, and she has a marathon approach to her activism. I think it’s important to show that you can participate in that activism in many ways — up until whatever age you can do it.”
Growing up, Guerra says that she didn’t know much about Huerta. But her mother is an immigration lawyer who often worked from home. Today, Guerra recalls what that work looked like: “I saw many of California’s farm workers there, at our house, and my mother helping people to get their green cards and work permits.”
Guerra says she felt honored to meet Huerta after she was asked to be in “Dolores,” and recalls the energetic activist participating at an orchestral reading a few years back — an experience Guerra says was pivotal in her work of assuming the role.
“What was amazing was that she gave this rousing speech, and got everyone to chant and clap,” said Guerra. “I met her after the show, and she was so gracious. People tell her how much she’s inspired them, and she says you can always do more. She just believes in everyone’s part in the grand scheme of doing good in the world.”
In her previous assignments, Guerra has excelled in standard repertory roles such as Bizet’s Carmen and Rossini’s Rosina. But she said she’s thrilled to be singing the role of “Dolores.” “I feel very lucky,” she said. “If I could perform certain roles for the rest of my life, it would be women with grit and tenacity – women like Dolores.”
Contact Georgia Rowe at [email protected]
‘DOLORES’
World premiere; music by by Nicolás Lell Benavides, libretto by Marella Martin Koch; presented by West
When: Aug. 2-16
Where: Scottish Rite Center, 1547 Lakeside Drive, Oakland
Tickets: Opening night (featuring guest Dolores Huerta) $500; remaining performances $10-$170; westedgeopera.org