The Atlanta Opera Brings Argentine Tango Opera to Life

May 15, 2017

As part of this year's Discoveries series, The Atlanta Opera presented Astor Piazzolla's Maria de Buenos Aires, an operita based on Argentine tango. Performed at Le Maison Rouge, a burlesque space at Paris on Ponce on the Atlanta Beltline, the chamber piece transported audience members to the Argentine capital, complete with tango dancers. General and Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun's adventurous programming is earning TAO a reputation as a company where the gamut of operatic experiences can be enjoyed. The full run of Maria was sold out nearly a year before the first performance.

Read reviews: 

“An unfailingly inviting and seductive soundworld…provided a comfortable entry point for what might otherwise have proved an elusive evening for many. Zvulun and his team can be proud of what could well become a new classic for Atlanta.”
Opera Magazine UK

"The latest offering in the Atlanta Opera’s Discoveries Series, Zvulun’s initiative to take the opera out of the opera house and explore more adventurous repertoire….[Maria was] a dream-like alchemy of jazz elements, chromaticism, and Argentina’s urban song. The suggestive choreography of the tango, highlighted throughout, infused the Atlanta Opera’s production with an undeniable authenticity."
Opera News

"Zvulun staged the show as immersive theater, taking advantage of Le Maison Rouge’s innate “red velvet bar” character to emulate that of a Buenos Aires tango bar and surround the audience with action at close range. The intimate approach and the venue’s evocative ambiance truly lent power to the performance."
ArtsATL