Spanish Prof. Fernando Operé, director of the Spanish Theatre Group, is nothing if not passionate about what he does for cultural drama. After 34 years, there is still a clear fire in his heart for his craft.
Operé's most recent production, Roberto Cossa’s “La nona,” presents an interesting combination of comedy and tragedy through character personalities in an almost Shakespearean way. The Spanish Theatre Group looks forward to delivering the story of “La nona” to the community. In anticipation for this upcoming production, Arts & Entertainment was offered an opportunity to ask the director a few questions before the play’s release this weekend.
Arts & Entertainment: Why did you want this particular production to be put together?
Fernando Operé: Well, I’ve been doing theater at the University of Virginia in Spanish for 34 years. We provide cultural immersions in Spanish culture not just through classes, but also through theater. I feel that we serve the University community but also the local community [with this]. So in this case, [we serve the community with] a play — and it is very difficult for me to figure out what the right play [for this] is because it needs many ingredients. I’m always interested in a play that says something or has some social contents … we chose [“La nona”] because it has some of the ingredients we are looking for.
A&E: Do you think the audience will be able to relate to the characters even though there is going to be a difference in social standing between the audience members and the actual characters in the play?
FO: Yeah, I think that in this play [there are] many elements of the human condition ... that can be appealed to everybody. Basically, this [play] is symbolically [portraying] a family in which the grandmother eats … until she devours the whole family, so this is more of a metaphor for elements of society.
A&E: Did you have any particular issues that are currently going on in society you were trying to address or tackle with this production?
FO: Not necessarily, I think there are many elements like the selfishness, the lack of energy, the lack of initiative, consumerism and many other things that apply to our society today, but I don't choose a play necessarily because of the message of the play. There are many other elements, [the] artistic [aspects of the production], so on and so forth. In the case of our students who are studying the [Spanish] language, it is very important to see some aspects of the culture.
A&E: Do you have any particular part of the play that you feel the strongest about or that was your absolute favorite?
FO: I think the main character of the play, which is this old lady named La nona... is a very interesting character — she can be very funny and very tragic. This combination makes the character a very special character. It is a very difficult character to portray in theater because the lady is 100 [years old] so the actor is wearing a prosthesis on the face, but [La nona] can be the key [to the performance]. If that character works, I think the play works.
A&E: Ultimately, why do you feel people should come see the play?
FO: Theater is magic. We are used to all the culture [being] through the Internet. There is no paper, there [are] no books, everything is the Internet, [but] you cannot replace theater. Theater is life — it’s right in front of your nose. I don’t see any other media that has the impact that theater has when it’s well done. This is why I’m still doing theater after so many years of my life.
A&E: What do you want for the audience to take away from the experience of going to see this play, if anything?
FO: Bertolt Brecht was a German author who used to say that a play has to entertain, so besides [having] messages on messages, [an audience member] need[s] to finish [watching it] and say, “Oh, that was great, I had great time. This is fun. This is good. I want to be a part of it next year.” So that will be my goal.
The Spanish Theatre Group will be performing “La nona” Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m., in the Helms Theatre located on the University Arts Grounds. All tickets are general admission and cost $12 for the general public and $7 for students.
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