{"id":400951,"date":"2026-09-15T23:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400951\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T23:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T23:52:14","slug":"la-corte-de-faraon-to-rekindle-faraon-fever-at-manuel-artime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400951\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018La Corte de Fara\u00f3n\u2019 to rekindle \u2018Fara\u00f3n Fever\u2019 at Manuel Artime"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mayl\u00fa Hern\u00e1ndez loves every aspect of building a production\u2014the scenery, the costumes, even deciding which feathers belong on a hat.<\/p>\n

But what she looks forward to most comes later.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe magic begins the moment you step onto the stage, the spotlight finds you and the audience is ready to be transported,\u201d says the Havana-born singer, actress and dancer. \u201cFor me, that\u2019s the most beautiful part of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"From From left, Alicia Lora Salgado as Reina, Pedro de los R\u00edos as Casto Jos\u00e9, Mayl\u00fa Hern\u00e1ndez as Lota and Jos\u00e9 Luis Bahamonde as Fara\u00f3n in \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n.\u201d (Photo courtesy of Carlos Batista) <\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez, who previously appeared in \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n\u201d with National Lyric Theater of Cuba, returns Sunday, Sept. 20. Miami-based production company Caro Events brings the zarzuela back to the Manuel Artime Theater for the one-night-only performance following a previous staging in May.<\/p>\n

First performed at Madrid\u2019s Teatro Eslava in 1910, \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n\u201d is a one-act zarzuela with music by Vicente Lle\u00f3 and a libretto by Guillermo Perr\u00edn and Miguel de Palacios. Often described as a \u201cbiblical operetta,\u201d it loosely reimagines the story of Joseph and Potiphar\u2019s wife as a farce set in ancient Egypt, mixing music, romance, double meanings and suggestive humor\u2014with playful nods to Verdi\u2019s \u201cAida.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018La Corte de Fara\u00f3n\u2019 is a celebration of mischievous humor, beautiful music and pure entertainment,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez says. \u201cWhat still surprises me is that it was written in 1910, yet its situations, characters and comedy feel completely alive today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez serves as the production\u2019s general director and plays La Lota, the zarzuela\u2019s flirtatious heroine. According to Hern\u00e1ndez, the May performance marked Miami\u2019s first major staging of \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n\u201d in more than two decades.<\/p>\n

Jos\u00e9 Luis Bahamonde knows that history firsthand.<\/p>\n

\"Jos\u00e9 Jos\u00e9 Luis Bahamonde as Fara\u00f3n and Alicia Lora Salgado as Reina, surrounded by members of the \u201cVoices of Miami\u201d chorus in \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n.\u201d \u201cThe key is to take the character seriously,\u201d Bahamonde says. \u201cThe humor comes from the situation itself.\u201d (Photo courtesy of Carlos Batista) <\/p>\n

A Cuban-trained tenor and graduate of Havana\u2019s Instituto Superior de Arte, Bahamonde has spent five decades working in theater, particularly zarzuela and opera. He also served as a producer and director with Pro-Arte Grateli, the company that helped keep zarzuela, opera and operetta on Miami stages for decades. In \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n,\u201d he plays the Pharaoh.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have as much lyric theater as we used to,\u201d Bahamonde says of Miami\u2019s changing theatrical landscape. \u201cIt\u2019s become more limited. Keeping a venue going is very difficult because of rents and the costs involved in producing a show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caro Events booked the theater nearly a year in advance, unsure what kind of audience response to expect.<\/p>\n

Then the May performance sold out a week before opening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened in May was something we never expected,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez recalls. \u201cThe 800-seat theater was sold out, and people were still calling, trying to find tickets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The enthusiasm continued after the curtain came down, with audience members sharing clips and comments online. Hern\u00e1ndez jokingly calls it \u201cFara\u00f3n fever.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the September production won\u2019t simply recreate the earlier staging.<\/p>\n

\"Mayl\u00fa Mayl\u00fa Hern\u00e1ndez as Lota, in white, and Alicia Lora Salgado as Reina, in gold, perform alongside the \u201cVoices of Miami\u201d chorus and Ballet Caro Dance in \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n,\u201d returning to Miami\u2019s Manuel Artime Theater for a one-night-only performance Sept. 20. (Photo courtesy of Carlos Batista) <\/p>\n

\u201cIn May we had two banners; now we have four,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez says. \u201cWe had 25 chorus costumes; now we have 32. We are making it larger, more colorful and more spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scale is ambitious, with more than 40 performers filling the stage amid elaborate costumes, scenery and props inspired by ancient Egypt.<\/p>\n

The company is also revisiting stage movement, pacing and comic timing rather than relying on what was done in May.<\/p>\n

Working with Hern\u00e1ndez is artistic director Manny Albelo, a longtime Miami director whose work in musical and lyric theater has included productions of \u201cCecilia Vald\u00e9s\u201d and \u201cLa Viuda Alegre.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I am performing and cannot see the full picture, Manny becomes my eyes,\u201d Hern\u00e1ndez says. \u201cHe sees what I cannot from inside the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Albelo\u2019s biggest challenges is making a libretto written more than a century ago feel immediate. Much of the text is in verse and packed with double meanings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing I wanted was for the verse not to reach the audience as something rigid,\u201d Albelo says. \u201cI wanted it to feel conversational.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than rewriting the text, the company uses pauses, interaction and natural delivery to preserve its rhythm while making the language accessible.<\/p>\n

\"Members Members of the \u201cVoices of Miami\u201d chorus and Ballet Caro Dance in \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n.\u201d At a performance in May , the audience joined the chorus during the \u201cBabylonian Song.\u201d (Photo courtesy of Carlos Batista) <\/p>\n

For Bahamonde, the same principle applies to playing the Pharaoh: don\u2019t chase the laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key is to take the character seriously,\u201d he says. \u201cThe humor comes from the situation itself, not from the actor clowning around.\u201d<\/p>\n

His Pharaoh maintains his composure as increasingly absurd situations unfold around him.<\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez laughs when describing La Lota\u2019s central contradiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is supposedly a virgin, but she is a virgin who knows absolutely everything,\u201d she says. \u201cThat contradiction is what makes her so funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

That humor, Hern\u00e1ndez says, also serves a purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is very stressful right now, and comedy gives people a chance to step outside their worries for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Samuel Samuel Rodr\u00edguez as Soldado Seti, left, Eduardo Arteche as General Putifar, center, and Jorge Carlos Arencibia as Soldado Selh\u00e1 in \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n.\u201d (Photo courtesy of Carlos Batista) <\/p>\n

One of the strongest connections with the audience comes during the \u201cBabylonian Song,\u201d one of the zarzuela\u2019s liveliest musical numbers. At the May performance, Hern\u00e1ndez invited the audience to join the chorus, and hundreds of voices answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is when the cast and the audience become one voice,\u201d she says. \u201cHearing 800 people singing together was beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bahamonde measures success more simply: he wants audiences to leave with a big smile\u2014and wanting more.<\/p>\n

Hern\u00e1ndez wouldn\u2019t mind a little blushing, either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope they laugh, blush, sing along and leave with their hearts full of music and joy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

If you go:<\/p>\n

WHAT: \u201cLa Corte de Fara\u00f3n\u201d<\/p>\n

WHERE: Manuel Artime Theater, 900 SW 1st St., Miami<\/p>\n

WHEN: 5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 20<\/p>\n

COST: $35 to $60<\/p>\n

INFORMATION: 305-967-9191 or caroevents.com<\/p>\n

ArtburstMiami.com<\/a> is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mayl\u00fa Hern\u00e1ndez loves every aspect of building a production\u2014the scenery, the costumes, even deciding which feathers belong on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-400951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}