Estévez’s Cantata Criolla will be performed under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel in Los Angeles from April 29 to May 02, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and in July in Venezuela.

This was announced by Gustavo Dudamel and the Venezuelan filmmaker Alberto Arvelo at a press conference held in Caracas at the Center for Social Action through Music.

After conducting three successful concerts in Caracas, Dudamel goes to Los Angeles to conduct the La Phil in the performance of Antonio Estévez’s Cantata Criolla, a work inspired by Florentino el que cantó con El Diablo, a poem by Alberto Arvelo Torrealba.

“Cantata Criolla is so Venezuelan that fills us with love for our country, and this is what we have tried to express…this is a gift to our country, because it is like hoisting our flag across the world,” said Dudamel who also announced future performances of the work in Venezuela.

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Gustavo Dudamel and Alberto Arvelo at a press conference. 15-04-2010. Photos: Nohely Oliveros / Fesnojiv.

Alberto Arvelo explained that a big group of Venezuelan artists will travel to Los Angeles to participate in the event. Edgar Ramírez (actor), Aquiles Machado (tenor), Gaspar Colón Moleiro (baritone), Ángel Sánchez, and  Nela Fuenmayor (fashion designer), and Solange Arvelo (plastic artist) are among them.

The theatrical production of Estévez’s Cantata Criolla – that will be premiered in Los Angeles at the Americas and Americans Festival – will be introduced by Guillermo Arriaga, scriptwriter of Babel and 21 Gramos; and readings will be given by actors Helen Hunt, Edgar Ramírez, and Andy García. Costume was designed by Ángel Sanchez.

“This is how we staged the work. There’ll be poems, quotes by leading American figures, songs, films… to introduce the work and explain the contrapunteo,” Arvelo explained.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Schola Cantorum of Venezuela, conducted by María Guinand, will also participate in this production.

Regarding musicians' preparation, Dudamel pointed out that the LA Phil is "… a great orchestra and they will do it wonderfully.” The Venezuelan conductor explained that the members of the orchestra are admirers of the piece, which becomes significant when it comes to perform it.

He admitted that Venezuelan music is hard to understand for people from other countries, but he was confident that the orchestra would do a great job.

Dudamel also announced that the Venezuelan Musician Jair Acosta will play the maracas, instruments that play an important role in narrating how Florentino faced the devil.

Tenor Aquiles Machado will play the role of Florentino, and baritone Gaspar Colón Moleiro will play the Diablo (the devil).