If you think you know opera, think again. Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (To Cross the Face of the Moon) came onto the scene in 2010 as the world’s first mariachi opera, commission by Houston Grand Opera. Now, the show will soon return to Houston where locals and visitors alike can see for themselves why the story of an immigrant family divided by the U.S./Mexican border has captivated so many.

After the opera’s recent New York City premiere at New York City Opera, The New York Times stated the subject of immigration “is explored with affecting sensitivity in this rich, honest opera.” And The New Yorker says, the music is “uplifting yet nostalgic.”

In this unique production, sung in both English and Spanish with projected translation, a Mexican-American man questions his own place in the world as he straddles two cultures: his immigrant father's and his own as a first-generation American. As he faces his father's mortality and discovers long-buried secrets, he finds himself dramatically re-evaluating his own understanding of what makes a family. 

Set against a vibrant mariachi score performed by the Grammy Award-winning Mariachi Los Camperos ensemble, the story of three generations shifts between the past and the present, Mexico and Texas, Spanish and English.

Catch performances of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna at the HGO's temporary location, the HGO Resilience Theater at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, May 17, 19 and 20. 

Looking for a convenient way to get downtown? Lyft has partnered with Houston Grand Opera this season, offering a $15 credit per ride—a value of $30 total—when guests purchase tickets to one or both spring productions. 

Cruzar la Cara de La Luna: Music by José "Pepe" Martínez; Lyrics by José "Pepe" Martínez and Leonard Foglia; Book by Leonard Foglia.