Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Diana P. Olano

Chola. Moreno. Gringa. Whether or not you speak Spanish, you’ve undoubtedly heard these terms while in Peru and have come to understand them. What color your skin is matters here, like it or not. It’s an underlying issue that people don’t really like to talk about but are all too aware exists. Anyone not wanting to live with the old, tired ideals that promote such a primitive attitude gladly welcomes anyone or anything who speaks out against it. “Mezcla”, the Teatro Japones’ current production, preaches such a message and does so with a spectacularly-entertaining show.

(LIP-jl) -- The East Village Opera Company (EVOC) has announced the date of their only show in Peru.  EVOC, which some would say is a cover band that spins traditional operas with modern twists, will offer an incredible experience never before seen in Peru on April 12, at the Vértice de la Cultura del Museo de La Nación, in Lima, Peru.

EVOC's members include cofounders Tyley Ross (vocalist) and Peter Kiesewalter (instrumentalist) as well as 8 other members who include; a bassist, a percussionist, two guitarists, and a string quartet.


About East Village Opera Company


The concept of the East Village Opera Company is totally fresh, but not unprecedented in pop. In 1985, for example, former punk-rock impresario Malcolm McLaren released Fans, an album of “hip-hopera” that brought funky beats and electronic programming to the works of Puccini and Bizet. But EVOC is a whole new thing: an integrated, eleven-strong working band dedicated to rocking the opera and electrifying the classics, as the ensemble has been doing to spectacular effect ever since its New York stage debut in the spring of 2004.

The East Village Opera Company was co-founded by lead singer Tyley Ross and arranger/multi-instrumentalist Peter Kiesewalter. They assembled a full-on rock band, adding two guitars, bass, and drums to Peter’s keyboards, then synched it to a string quartet. A second superb vocalist, AnnMarie Milazzo, was recruited for impassioned duets with Tyley Ross (cf. "Au fond du temple saint," from Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers) and soaring solos like “Ebben? — Ne andrò lontana” (from La Wally by Alfredo Catalani).

(by Wolfy Becker)

Kristal: This native Detroiter is appointed and anointed to sing, and write music that touches the soul of man (Photo: LivinginPeru.com)

(by Wolfy Becker)

Meet Joscha Oetz, German contrabassist, composer, producer and first class teacher with international experience.

A cosmopolitan virtuoso, Oetz is at home in multiple musical universes. He works in Jazz, Classical and Contemporary Classical contexts as well as Hip Hop, Latin Music, Peruvian music, Salsa, among others, are Joscha's favorite fields of musical expertise.

(by Yrene Rojas, Press agent)

“El Vuelo del Condor” (“The Flight of the Condor”) is a 90 minute cirque style show featuring original music, over 40 international artists including acrobats, dancers, a comedian, and an Inca inspired theme. The show is directed by Cesar Aedo, former student of Marcel Marceau.

Q'orianka Waira Qoiana Kilcher - her name alone sounds 'worldly' yet mysterious. Q'orianka - we get to its meaning later - was born 16 years ago in Schweigmatt, Germany, a tiny, idyllic village in the Black Forest hills from where you can see as far as the Swiss Alps and Jura Mountains across the Rhine River.

Her father is a descendant of the Huachipaeri and Quechua people in Madre de Dios and her mother is a Swiss national who grew up in Alaska.

Kilcher still pinches herself to make sure it’s all not just a dream. Two years ago, after a worldwide search that lasted eight months, film director Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line) chose the beautiful Kilcher to take on the pivotal part of Pocahontas in the movie 'The New World', a drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century.

Kilcher had thought the odds were stacked against her because she was younger than the other actresses who auditioned for the role. But Malick wanted someone young and Kilcher got the nod, which meant her first big feature film role would be opposite handsome hunks, Colin Farrell and Christian Bale.