"Opera has captured me in a way that seems really familiar,"
"I remember hearing the 'Habañera' from 'Carmen' and that felt very familiar. Once I got to really know and interact with opera, it felt like I was rediscovering my childhood, which music was such a part of because it really was everywhere."
Michelle Ainna Cuizon grew up in Manila where music and karaoke were constant parts of daily life. She heard operatic motifs through movies and cartoons, including the Habañera from Carmen, which later felt familiar when engaging with opera. Cuizon sang choral music in the Philippines and later moved to New York City to study directing. A two-year residency in San Jose concluded this past spring, and Cuizon returned to Opera San Jose as guest director of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. The opera centers on Lt. Pinkerton's marriage to 15-year-old Cio-Cio San and her eventual suicide. Controversies about race and cultural appropriation complicate productions, and Cuizon seeks more culturally competent staging.
Read at The Mercury News
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