Synopsis

Place

The contrasting landscapes of a busy New York Winter and an explosive Rio de Janeiro Summer shape the scenario against which the cultural and psychological conflicts among the characters take place. Interaction between natives and foreigners in Rio, as well as the dealing of art and drugs, set up a panel
of references to urban violence in the modern world. Parallel to the story line are underlying tribal and mystical themes, dealing with aspects of colonization, globalization, the collective unconscious mind, urban archetypes, and the fusion of cultures in the New World. Shamanic aspects of animal souls define the scope of each of the main characters.

Plot

Tamanduá is the bilingual, multi-cultural story of a love triangle between Carol, a bi-polar American journalist heading to Brazil, Aruanan, a Brazilian man in search of the mystic purpose of his life, and his childhood friend Pedro, a Brazilian drug dealer who lived in New York and is attached to material values, money and the good life. Julia, the mother of Aruanan’s fi rst child also enters the picture as one who comments the development of the story and foresees the tragedy.

Once Carol gets to Rio, she immerses herself in the local nightlife. At first she meets Pedro, and then Aruanan, with whom she becomes romantically involved. Carol and Aruanan lead a life with the inevitable conflicts of a couple from different backgrounds. Both idealize and misunderstand each other. Carol meets Julia and feels the gravity of Aruanan’s previous life.

Pedro takes Carol out one evening, with a plan to use her as a cover for a major drug deal. The evening intensifies and they become lovers. It is not long before Aruanan hears the news and loses control over his anger. He confronts Pedro, ultimately killing him. The police chase Aruanan, assuming that the death is drug-related. He is hung, tortured and killed. His body is dumped in a landfill.

Carol - in shock with the sequence of events that have escaped her control - discovers that she is pregnant and creates an unlikely bond with Julia. As she plays with Aruanan and Julia’s daughter, Sofi a, she begins to understand the changes she has undergone, an inner perception of the circles of life.  In the outside world, a place contaminated by urban violence, there is no time to cry over losses in the battle. During the transformation ritual, the spirits of the dead rise above the scene. The city cannot stop to mourn, Carol and Julia bond through the experience of motherhood, the Laundry Women sing their song to the waters that wash away the blood from the previous night.

Music for Social Change

Tamanduá is not just a premier of one of the fi rst Brazilian operas ever produced and performed on a large scale in New York but a catalyst for social change. The primary production goals are to Educate, Engage and Explore. New music in orchestral format, from a culture that is known for its ethnic variety and acceptance, is fused with multi-media art in its set design.

Tamanduá as a social movement will:
• Educate the general public and at-risk youth on the history and ancient traditions of indigenous cultures in South America and the dilution and assimilation of those cultures with the European Colonizers who invaded them;
• Engage the indigenous peoples of the Amazon to exhibit their art and culture through this operatic work and its related promotional events;
• Explore the use of music as a means of rehabilitating at-risk youth in realizing their fullest human potential.