Shakespeare’s plays to be musicalized in Mexico City

Early music

ensemble Favola In Musica will present “ Canciones de las obras de Shakespeare ( Songs of Shakespeare’s plays )… If the music be the food of love ,” at 6 PM on June 3, at the “Esperanza Iris” City Theater in Mexico City , featuring countertenor Santiago Cumplido.

The show will consist of a series of musical themes inspired by “The Tempest,” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” by English poet William Shakespeare. Some of his texts will also be musicalized in a baroque style.

Audiences are invited to dress up in the style of the 16th century to take a picture with the ensemble. The people with the best outfits will be offered a free professional portrait of themselves , which will be handed to them in a digital form as a celebration of the special night.

The musical program will be divided into three sections . The show was named after a quote from “Twelfth Night:” “If music be the food of love, play on, give me excess of it...”

These songs will feature some of Shakespeare’s famous characters like the sorcerer Prospero and the comic sprite Ariel , from “The Tempest,” as well as Puck and Oberon , from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Favola In Musica is a Mexican early music ensemble created in 2011 . Their repertoire mainly ranges from the 14th to 17th century . The group is composed of four members: Jaime Alfonso Soria, playing the baroque violin; Alejandro Cardozo, who plays the recorder; Daniel Ortega playing the harpsichord, and Mario Salinas Villa, playing the viola da gamba.

The musical director, Rami Martínez (baritone), has dedicated himself to the research and preservation of ancient music, consulting and transcribing archives from the Cathedral of Guatemala , and Bolivia’s National Archive . He has also conducted research on the Cathedral of Mexico , the Scherzi Musicali by Claudio Monteverdi, several hymnal and songbooks from the Iberian Peninsula, and more recently, the songs that appear in the works of Shakespeare.

Tickets are available for purchase through Ticketmaster

dm