Locally Produced Opera Film to Premiere at Varsity
Dreams Have No Borders features Grammy-winning talent and a weekend of special events
WHAT: Dreams Have No Borders, a new 90-minute film sung in English and Spanish.
WHERE: Premiering at the Varsity Theatre, 166 E Main St, in Ashland.
WHEN: Screenings at 7:30 pm on Saturday, June 22 and 3:00 pm on Sunday, June 23.
WHO: Written by local creators Ethan Gans-Morse and Tiziana DellaRovere and produced by local nonprofit Anima Mundi Productions, the film features three Grammy-winning singers, the Delgani String Quartet, the Teokalli Aztec Dancers, stage direction by Valerie Rachelle (Oregon Cabaret), and film direction by 3-time Emmy award winning filmmaker Jan Thompson.
TICKETS: Please call (541) 833-3066 or visit www.HumanityTickets.com for tickets and information. Please do NOT call the Varsity Theatre.
WHAT ELSE: In addition to the film premiere, the producers are also offering two free events the same weekend. Join us Friday, June 21 at 6:00 pm at El Tapatío Mexican Restaurant,1633 Highway 99 (Behind the Ashland Motor car dealership near exit 19) for a FREE conversation with the film’s creators and Latino community leaders. Free food provided!
IS THERE EVEN MORE? YES! Anima Mundi Productions and Unite Oregon have partnered with the Art & Soul Ashland gallery (247 E. Main St.) to exhibit artwork painted by teens in the Forward Youth program created especially for this event under the mentorship of Medford artist Adrian Chavez. Join us for a FREE Opening Reception Sunday June 23rd from 5:00-6:30pm (after the film screening) to meet the artists and enjoy complimentary refreshments.
About the Film
Anima Mundi Productions, the Ashland-based nonprofit that operates the Heart of Humanity Concert Series, has announced the world premiere of a new operatic film that the company has created over the last 5 years.
Dreams Have No Borders (Los sueños no tienen fronteras) is based on the real-life stories of immigrants in the Rogue Valley Latino community. With music by composer Ethan Gans-Morse and a libretto (the story and poetic dialogue) by Tiziana DellaRovere, the opera was intended for a live premiere in 2020. In response to the Pandemic, we turned it into a film by Emmy-award winning director Jan Thompson for a world premiere at the Varsity Theatre.
A Different Kind of Opera
For many people, the word “opera” conjures up images of powdered wigs, foreign languages, and arcane stories of centuries past and far-away lands. Dreams Have No Borders, by contrast, is based on the real-life stories the creators heard during a year spent collecting stories from Latino immigrants and collaborating with Latino-advocacy nonprofits and community leaders in the Rogue Valley. While the work they ultimately produced is a fictional story created by compositing those interviews, everything that happens to the characters in the opera happened in real life to the Rogue Valley residents they interviewed.
Please note that the film features subtitles in the languages being sung (English and Spanish).
Who Are the Creators?
Dreams Have No Borders is the creation of composer Ethan Gans-Morse and poet Tiziana DellaRovere, who was recently called “Ashland’s unofficial poet laureate” by Ashland.news.
Dreams Have No Borders is their third operatic collaboration. Their 2014 opera, The Canticle of the Black Madonna, was hailed by The Oregonian as “A huge achievement… generous, carefully crafted and supremely compassionate. In a review of their second opera, Tango of the White Gardenia, Oregon ArtsWatch wrote “Its messages are loud and clear and humane, and the art is fine enough to carry them.” Their 2018 collaboration with the Rogue Valley Symphony, How Can You Own The Sky?, recounted our region’s Native American legacy.
All-Star Cast
The production also features three Grammy Award-winning singers, soprano Estelí Gomez, Cecilia Duarte, and David M. Sanchez accompanied by the Delgani String Quartet, called “the state’s finest chamber ensemble” by Oregon ArtsWatch, and the Teokalli Aztec Dancers.
Watch the film’s trailer at www.HumanityTickets.com or call 541-833-3066 for info.
Tickets at www.HumanityTickets.com or (541) 833-3066 or
tickets@animamundiproductions.com
Special reduced ticket pricing is available at the door for students under 25, SOU faculty & staff, and Oregon Trail cardholders. Please arrive 30 minutes early to purchase discounted tickets.