IU students, community members stage 'unusual' tango opera

At 8 p.m. tonight at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, drama, music and dance will unite into a single, multifaceted production as "Maria de Buenos Aires" takes the stage.\nA "tango" operetta by Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer, the show challenges the notions of a traditional, classical opera.\n"This is a very unusual opera ... It has integrated dancing with drama all at the same time," said Ulises Solano, who will be portraying El Duende, one of the show's principal roles. \nThe cast and crew of "Maria de Buenos Aires" are mainly comprised of graduate students specializing in various artistic disciplines, although there are a few undergraduates and community volunteers involved in the project. Solano said even though their areas of expertise differ, all those who are involved, whether they are musicians, actors, dancers or lighting and sound technicians, have spent many hours working toward a common goal: an effective, moving performance.\n The storyline of "Maria de Buenos Aires" covers many controversial subjects, providing the audience with a cultural snapshot of the urban slums of Argentina. Allegorically, Maria represents the tango, an aggressive dance that captures the discontented, revolutionary spirit of the barrios of Buenos Aires. A tragically misunderstood heroine, Maria's journey represents the repression, trials and eventual rebirth of the tango itself, according to the Web site of ExArt, which, in collaboration with the Latin American Music Center and the Arthur Murray Dance Studio, is presenting the production. \nThe musical techniques employed by the artists are anything but traditional, said stage and marketing director Mihaela Bogdan. Throughout the performance, orchestra members will beat on their instruments and pinch their strings, rather than play them in the conventional manner. \n"(The music) is the language of the tango. ... It's the language of the streets," Bogdan said. \nAlthough the music is a constant between productions of "Maria de Buenos Aires" performed at different venues, the operetta is somewhat of an allegory, or the representation of an abstract idea through dramatic interpretation. Consequently, each time it is staged, the directors have an abundance of artistic freedom, and, according to Solano, no two productions are ever the same. \nExArt was founded this year by world-renowned violinist and conductor Hebe de Champeaux and is a collective of members of the \nperforming arts community. According to its Web site, the organization's mission is "to express classical and contemporary art forms in an engaging and exciting fashion unconstrained by traditional expectations." \nBogdan explained that ExArt chose the operetta as its first project because it presented an artistic challenge. \n"We wanted to provoke ourselves as young professionals to bring about something new," she said. "When we first heard the music, it seemed alluring ... We couldn't resist." \nThe cost is $15 for general admission and $10 for student tickets. For more information on the production, visit www.ex-art.org.