Florida Chamber Orchestra spotlights opera's next generation

Miami Herald

6 days ago

The Florida Chamber Orchestra, led by conductor Marlene Urbay, is giving audiences a glimpse into the future of opera with up-and-comers from South Florida.
The nave at St. Dominic Catholic Parish in Miami will resonate with their powerful voices in 'Echoes of Tomorrow' at 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Part of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium's 'Away From Home' series—an initiative bringing the arts to unexpected venues during the auditorium's renovation—'Echoes of Tomorrow' will feature vocalists from the studio of tenor and vocal coach Manny Pérez.
The performers—Josue Brizuela, Claudia Céspedes, Ana Collado, Mayara García, London Gutiérrez, Dalila Lugo, Silvio Plata, and Isaac Rodríguez—represent a wide spectrum of backgrounds, stories, and ambitions. They'll be performing selections from 'Rigoletto,' 'La Bohème,' 'Così fan tutte,' 'María La O,' 'L'elisir d'amore,' and 'Cecilia Valdés.'
Plata, a 21-year-old tenor born in Nicaragua and raised in Miami, this performance is deeply personal. 'Classical music became my greatest passion,' he says. 'It started as a hobby, but everything changed when I was offered a full scholarship to the University of Miami. I felt like life was giving me a sign.'
The young singer who lost his sight as a child due to retinal cancer, feels music as a lifeline and a new way of perceiving the world. 'I was just a year or two old when my parents had to make the decision to remove both of my eyes. We had no resources, and the community came together to help us. Music gave me a way to give something back—something that brings peace, joy, and comfort.'
He describes music as a sixth sense. 'Every song, every opera tells a story. It's how I understand emotions, how I understand my surroundings. Even though I lost my vision, music gave me a new way of seeing.'
Also taking the stage is a 20-year-old Cuban-American soprano currently studying at Juilliard. 'Opera wasn't something I grew up with,' Lugo admits. 'My parents are not musicians—my dad, Blas Lugo, is actually a former international chess master. Music just wasn't part of my heritage.'
Still, she recalls singing constantly as a child. Her parents encouraged it, even if they didn't always understand it. 'I was humming and singing in the car all the time. When I was seven, I started voice lessons with an opera singer, and it completely changed my path.' Along with a fierce commitment to mastering her voice, her love of opera deepened through years of study with Cuban-American colatura soprano Eglise Gutiérrez, also a student of Perez's.
Now a student at one of the most prestigious conservatories in the world, Lugo finds opera to be more relevant than ever. 'People think opera is old-fashioned or inaccessible, but it tells real stories about real people. It's more relatable than people realize.' She also sees her participation in 'Echoes of Tomorrow' as a way to bridge generations. 'This concert makes opera accessible. It invites people in without intimidating them. And that's how we keep this art form alive.'
Her performance of Ernesto Lecuona's 'Siboney' promises to be a highlight. 'I love coming back to Miami to sing songs in Spanish. In New York, I rarely hear zarzuela or Latin American art songs. Here, it feels like home.'
At the heart of it all is Urbay, whose artistic leadership has shaped the Florida Chamber Orchestra into one of the few fully professional chamber ensembles in South Florida. As the orchestra approaches its 30th anniversary in 2026, 'Echoes of Tomorrow' is also a reflection of her enduring legacy.
The daughter of acclaimed Cuban conductor Jose Ramon Urbay, Marlene came to Miami in 1991 as a political refugee with a distinguished international résumé but few professional prospects. She graduated from the University of Miami in the mid-1990s, rebuilding her credentials in a new country. 'None of the doors opened for me,' she recalls. 'So I did the only thing I knew how to do: I started my own orchestra.'
Now 61, Urbay has led the Florida Chamber Orchestra for nearly three decades. Made up of 30 local musicians who also perform with the Florida Grand Opera and Miami City Ballet orchestras, Palm Beach Symphony and the Naples Philharmonic, the orchestra's programming often blends classical repertoire with Latin American and Cuban music to reach wider audiences. 'One thing that makes us different,' she says, 'is that we don't only perform Beethoven—we also play Lecuona.'
Her mission has always included creating space for new generations of musicians. 'I've presented talented young performers every season,' she explains. 'Whether it's a pianist at age eleven or a young singer just starting out—these are the future voices of music.'
But running a professional orchestra hasn't been easy. 'They don't teach you how to be an entrepreneur in music school,' says Urbay. 'I had to learn how to raise money, how to build an audience, how to keep going even when resources were scarce. And being a Latina woman in this field? That's another challenge altogether.'
Still, her resilience and vision have endured, as she explains: 'We've carved out our own identity. Our audience knows who we are. And this concert is proof that the future of opera isn't just alive—it's thriving.'
If you go:
WHAT: 'Echoes of Tomorrow' by the Florida Chamber Orchestra as part of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium's 'Away From Home' series.
WHERE: St. Dominic Catholic Parish. 5909 NW 7th St., Miami
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday, June 1.
COST: $40, general admission, $50 VIP for first to fifth row.
INFORMATION: 305-993-9855 or visit caroentertainment.com
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