** 2024 Commencement Updates **

** 2024 Commencement Updates **

Zarzuela Spanish Opera in Kennedy Hall

LAS VEGAS, NM – Opera Alta will join the Highlands Department of Music in a performance of Spanish opera Sept. 10 in the university’s Kennedy Alumni Hall.

The 7 p.m. concert will highlight arias, duets and ensemble examples of zarzuela, a form of Spanish musical theater the combines song and speech.

“For this concert, we wanted to present the most famous and memorable moments from the zarzuela repertoire,” said Andre Garcia-Nuthmann, Highlands’ choral director.

The concert will feature highlights from works Luisa Fernanda and La Verbena de la Paloma and others.

The term zarzuela originates from King Philip IV’s royal hunting lodge, La Zarzuela, where short comedic plays accompanied by music were a part of the king’s receptions.

The concert, featuring performances by Jennifer Perez, Tjett Gerdon, Bethany Filer, Alicia Solomon, Brian Husysman, and Garcia-Nuthmann is free and open to the public, however donations to the music program are appreciated.