Recently, I have had occasion to visit the Angela Peralta theatre in Mazatlán’s historic centre. A friend gave me two free tickets for the Mazatlán cultural festival.
On the outside, the theatre has a pretty and well maintained facade with grand pillars. It was built in 1874 and fully renovated in 1992.
Once you enter through the set back entrance doors, you find yourself in a lovely courtyard that reveals the actual building that houses the theatre hall. The hall itself is cute with its small balconies on three levels all the way around. I would expect that you have a pretty good view wherever you sit this, and it has an intimate feel.
On my first visit, I went to a children’s play with dance. It was based on Michael Ende’s Momo, which of course I had read as a child. The production was put on by a dance academy with young dancers, mostly young girls and slightly older young men. The story was told and interspersed with dance. The audience was engaged to call out for Momo at times, since it was a production for children, and they enthusiastically complied.
While I did not understand the Spanish spoken story, I luckily remembered the premise of Momo, and some of the dancing was a real pleasure to watch. It was impossible to avoid smiling at the delight the children in the audience felt and expressed. A very enjoyable evening.
On my way to the bus back home, I heard fanfare sounds on the Plaza República, so I went to investigate. The group must have been practicing as they were interrupted by the director a couple of times for instructions. I included a video of a small excerpt below. I couldn’t help but smile as came upon them.
The second visit of the theatre was for a night of opera. Accompanied by a pianist, eight opera singers performed miscellaneous arias, duets, trios and group songs, some well known, most of them Mexican or Spanish. A lot of them were delightful. My seat neighbours to the right were humming along with a lot of the songs…
Toward the end, one of the tenors took stage and sang local favorites. The audience was invited to sing along, and they wholeheartedly did. Especially a song about Mazatlán was an audience favorite and sung several times. Eventually, the whole company joined on stage. It was a lot of fun.
The final encore was the La Traviata drinking song by Verdi, of course always loved by the audience.
It was again a lovely experience at the Angela Peralta Teatro, especially the enthusiasm and participation of the Mexican audience. If you are a serious fan of opera or classical concerts in Canada or Germany, you would have to adjust your expectations before going in Mazatlán. The audience is not whisper quiet during the performance here – you will hear people having quiet conversations. Or hum along… It is a much more organic and less stifled experience.
I am now curious to go to a paid performance and see if there are differences – in audience and in musical quality. Also, I wouldn’t want to generalize for all of Mexico based on a Mazatlán experience. A performance in Mexico City might be a whole different experience. And yes, if there was any doubt, I am a self-confessed musical snob, especially when it comes to classical music and opera. Let me have it…
On my way back home, I took a couple of night shots of the Catedral Basilica de la Inmaculada Concepción at the Plaza República and some decorations at Plazuela Machada in anticipation of El Día de los Muertos.
How cool to see this theatre experience as part of your blog :).
I remember standing in the auditorium there in May and taking photos to show you. I said at the time: “You will love it here and I can see you will be in these seats one day!” Glad to know that you had a great time there and that it didn’t disappoint!
Cool! I know how much you love theatre, musicals and operas! There is always a Basilica!
C