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An Ode to the Songs of the Americas Bogotá
Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo
04/16/2025 -
Arias & Songs by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, Gonzalo Roig, Daniel Catán, Astor Piazzolla, Heitor Villa‑Lobos, María Grever, Elpidio Ramírez, Cosils Velázquez, Jaime León & Julio Reyes Copello
Betty Garcés, Julieth Lozano (sopranos), Ramón Vargas (tenor)
Coro Filarmónico Juvenil de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Johanna Molano Granados (chorus master), Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá, Roger Díaz‑Cajamarca (conductor)
B. Garcés, R. Díaz‑Cajamarca
(© Juan Diego Castillo/Courtesy of the Bogotá International Classical Music Festival)
In 2012, Bogotá, Colombia’s capital, was designated by UNESCO as a Creative City of Music, the first Latin American city to be bestowed this title. That same year the idea was born to create a biennial music festival. The first edition of this festival, “Bogotá is Beethoven,” took place during Holy Week in 2013. Subsequent festivals had various themes: Mozart in 2015, Romantic Russia in 2017, Brahms, Schubert & Schumann in 2019, Bach, Handel & Vivaldi in 2021 and “France: La Belle Epoque” in 2023. This year’s theme is “Music of the Americas” in the twentieth and twenty‑first centuries, and features music by composers from the Western Hemisphere interpreted by Colombian and international artists. The thirty‑nine concerts of the 2025 edition were presented over four days, in different venues in and around Colombia’s bustling capital of over eleven million inhabitants.
The opening concert venue was the 1300-seat Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, built in 2010. Given its capacity, most events involving an orchestra are presented here, in a modern, aesthetically-pleasing atmosphere.
The first half of the concert was dedicated to George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein, and the second, of excerpts from stage works by Latin American composers as well as famous popular songs. Two Colombian sopranos, Julieth Lozano and Betty Garcés, and Mexican star tenor Ramón Vargas were the featured singers in this gala.
The absolute revelation of the evening was Colombian soprano Betty Garcés, who inaugurated the concert with her dazzling interpretation of “Summertime,” from Porgy and Bess. Not since Leontyne Price’s legendary 1960 recording have I heard a more moving and beautifully sung interpretation. Garcés’s voice is miraculous: an extremely rich and distinct timbre with natural trills, and a seemingly limitless range, completely at ease in the upper register, while maintaining a sturdy lower voice that could descend deeply to a rich, enveloping contralto. Moreover, she’s a convincing artist who utterly inhabits her roles, conveying emotion with focused intensity.
Garcés was positively mesmerizing in the grandiose aria, “No solo soy mi nombre”, from Mexican composer Daniel Catán’s mystical opera Florencia en el Amazonas. Garcés conveyed the tormented state of mind of diva Florencia Grimaldi. She impressed in the sensual “Melodia Sentimental” from Villa‑Lobos’s Floresta do Amazonas. Her Portuguese diction was impeccable, a rare feat for Spanish speakers. She also showed her comic side in the duet “America” from Bernstein’s West Side Story. In this duet between Anita and Rosalía, one praises the United States and the other praises Puerto Rico; Garcés’s snide attitude in the duet was irresistibly hilarious.
The other Colombian, Julieth Lozano, is a lyric soprano with a much lighter but also beautiful voice. She has ample charisma and communicated well with the audience. She was somewhat timid in the first part of the evening, though I suspect this was due to the language of Gershwin and Bernstein. Though her Maria was somewhat low key, she exuded charm in “I feel pretty” from West Side Story. The real Julieth Lozano revealed herself in both “Salida de Cecilia Valdés” from Gonzalo Roig’s zarzuela Cecilia Valdés and “Yo soy María” from Astor Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires, where she dazzled us with her larger-than-life persona. It was lovely to hear an aria from the most famous Cuban zarzuela, as it’s marvellously melodious and seldom performed.
The bandoneon accompaniment in the Piazzolla was outstanding. Throughout the concert, conductor Roger Díaz‑Cajamarca led the Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá with panache, showing an affinity for the lyric repertoire by amply supporting the singers. Likewise, Coro Filarmónico Juvenil de la Orquesta Filarmónica de Bogotá was disciplined, displaying good diction in the English-language excerpts.
Mexico’s Ramón Vargas needs no introduction. This opera star has graced the world’s most prominent stages in myriad roles, and is most noted for his bel canto. Now in his sixties, this lyric tenor’s top notes are not as secure, but his stage presence is even bigger than in his prime. His middle voice is still intact, and the repertoire was chosen accordingly. He was at his best in the three popular Mexican songs, Jurame, La Malaguena and Besame mucho. The latter, done as a duet with Betty Garcés, was an exercise in charm. They slow danced at the opening and continued to dance intermittently while singing gorgeously. Vargas sang one strophe of the song which was then repeated by Garcés. The following strophe was sung by both in unison, and so on, making the song last almost twice as long; no one complained. I surmise most would have wished it to last even longer.
The final song was Colombian: America by Julio Reyes Copello, sung by all three, to the rapture of the public. Needless to say, an encore was required, and a melodious popular Colombian song “Yo me llamo cumbia” by Mario Garena (1933‑2021) was the choice. This is almost a second national anthem for Colombians, so the already ecstatic audience positively roared. It was an ideal ending for an idyllic evening of song.
Ossama el Naggar
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