Brisbane Festival 2011: Maria de Buenos Aires

"Tango gives women power," says Cherie Boogaart, star of Maria de Buenos Aires who has earned glowing reviews - not just because of her beauty and fantastic legs, which are mentioned often, but for dancing a 'mean tango'.

This is no small feat considering she took her first tango lesson six weeks before the production opened, learned Spanish and immersed herself in Argentinean music to take on the role as the scintillating Maria -- a Buenos Aires prostitute who draws audiences into her world.

"She comes alive at night and dies in the morning only to be reborn again at sunset," Boogaart states passionately. "Maria is every woman, she is the most exciting role I have ever played."

In a co-production between Leigh Warren & Dancers and the State Opera of South Australia, Brisbane Festival 2011 will be the first time the highly successful show has travelled out of its southern home state.

Leigh Warren, director and choreographer from Leigh Warren & Dancers, agrees Astor Piazzolla's 'tango operita' offers audiences one of the most fascinating heroines ever created. Sung in Spanish, it was first performed in Buenos Aires in 1968 and is often hailed as a surrealist masterpiece.

"Contemporary society feigns disapproval of the seedy side of life, but we all want to look down that dark alley," Leigh Warren laughs.

"The audience can do this with Maria and Cherie abandons herself so much to the role that when they leave they want to go to a club in Buenos Aires and dance the tango."

As intriguing as she is, Maria and her fabulous backdrop of Buenos Aires are not the only stars of this piece. Mark Oates, who sings the role of the cantor, and Alirio Zavarce, the narrator, are a delightful complement to Cherie's amazing voice.

The music of Astor Piazzolla and the sumptuous sound of the bandoneòn, transports audiences back to the streets and seedy clubs of Buenos Aires. Brisbane is lucky enough to enjoy the bandoneòn played by one of the world's foremost virtuosi, Santiago Polimeni, direct from Buenos Aires, who is joined on stage by the State Opera of South Australia Chorus and an instrumental ensemble comprised of musicians from the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. The group will be musically directed from the piano by Timothy Sexton. The bandoneòn and the tango are inextricably bound; both are dramatic and sensual, require enormous skill and were born in the streets of Argentina. With amazing lighting and set design by Nigel Levings, costume design by Kathryn Sproul, and interaction between the singers and the band, Maria de Buenos Aires is an extraordinary production. In the words of Leigh Warren, "the aroma and flavour of Buenos Aires wash over you." One can almost smell Maria's perfume and it is very seductive.

For the full event information, please go to http://www.brisbanefestival.com.au

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