Starting with the famous line, “one day when God was drunk,” Madison Opera recreated the classical Spanish tango opera María de Buenos on Friday evening at the Overture Center for the Arts.

In partnership with Kanopy Dance, Madison Opera’s debut of Maria de Buenos Aires was met with a standing ovation.

General Director of Madison Opera Kathryn Smith spoke about the difficulty and opportunity that a show such as Maria de Buenos Aires presents and Stage Director Francis Rabelais’ creative approach.

“[If] you do a Puccini opera like ‘La bohème,’ Puccini tells you how to tell the story,” Smith said. “In this [María de Buenos Aires] you are kind of on your own. Francis put together the narrative that she wanted to tell so you won’t see this production anywhere else. [You] won’t see anything like it anywhere.”

The show was also noted for its artistic use of costumes and sets. The sets, consisting primarily of two large facades, stood out for its creative conversions. First serving as a church, it was converted into a motel and later a bar. The set was also known for its unconventional use of a soda machine as a coffin.

Kelly Guerra, who plays María, was praised for her performance and singing. She was especially celebrated for portraying emotion and the agony of death through her singing and performance of the shadow of María.

Laureano Quant as El Payador was also recognized for his exceptional singing and performance, bringing lightness to the show.

The show was most noted for its artistic introduction of María. Beginning with prayers and Quant as El Payador the priest, a church set unfolds. In the background stand what appear to be three statues. In the center is Maria, dressed as Jesus, who suddenly comes to life, singing. The two figures next to her remain motionless, convincingly as real statues. Surprising all, they too come to life too while Maria breaks her character as the statue of Jesus introducing herself to the world as “María de Buenos Aires.”

The introduction of Maria along with other artistic choices standing out for their choreography, direction and music made Madison Opera’s performance of María de Buenos Aires along with Kanopy Dance a truly exceptional event.