Venue: Keller Hall

The UNM Opera Theatre class directed by Professor James Flora and Dr. Kristin Ditlow present “Postcards from Around the World”, scenes from popular operas and musicals. Starting off with an all-time favorite from Kiss Me Kate, “We Open in Venice” and venture off to a crowded Moroccan airport with works from Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco. We meet many different people, on different journeys. Like April, the flight attendant who is on the way to “Barcelona”, but her friend Robert convinces her to stay with him, and he immediately regrets it. How about Carmen? Can her friends convince her to smuggle with them in Seville in Bizet’s famous quintet? Or will they end up like the 6 merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail with their rendition of the Cell Block Tango? Perhaps instead we’ll travel to the Austrian Alps and learn “Do Re Mi” from Maria or help the Macbeth witches brew up a spooky potion in Scotland. If flying is not your thing, you can always take a steamboat to the Amazonas and enjoy an intense card game with the newly in love Rosalba and Arcadio and bickering Paula and Alvaro. They probably could’ve used someone like Yente the “Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof to help with their relationship. If you’re looking for warm weather, I hear Isabella is having a pool party in Algiers, and you can’t have a pool part without Lippo Fiorentino’s ice cream cones. End with a perfect day on “Sunday in the Park with George” on an island in the Seine River by Paris.

The UNM Opera Theatre class directed by Professor James Flora and Dr. Kristin Ditlow present “Postcards from Around the World”, scenes from popular operas and musicals. Starting off with an all-time favorite from Kiss Me Kate, “We Open in Venice” and venture off to a crowded Moroccan airport with works from Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco. We meet many different people, on different journeys. Like April, the flight attendant who is on the way to “Barcelona”, but her friend Robert convinces her to stay with him, and he immediately regrets it. How about Carmen? Can her friends convince her to smuggle with them in Seville in Bizet’s famous quintet? Or will they end up like the 6 merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail with their rendition of the Cell Block Tango? Perhaps instead we’ll travel to the Austrian Alps and learn “Do Re Mi” from Maria or help the Macbeth witches brew up a spooky potion in Scotland. If flying is not your thing, you can always take a steamboat to the Amazonas and enjoy an intense card game with the newly in love Rosalba and Arcadio and bickering Paula and Alvaro. They probably could’ve used someone like Yente the “Matchmaker” from Fiddler on the Roof to help with their relationship. If you’re looking for warm weather, I hear Isabella is having a pool party in Algiers, and you can’t have a pool part without Lippo Fiorentino’s ice cream cones. End with a perfect day on “Sunday in the Park with George” on an island in the Seine River by Paris.

¡Música del Corazón! El Acordeón in New Mexico’s Hispano Musical Traditions ~ 12th Annual John Donald Robb, Jr. Memorial Concert
Sunday 16 November 2025
FREE family-friendly community event
2pm round table 3pm concert
UNM Keller Hall

Featuring
*Carlos Medina
* Felix “Gato” Peralta & Lara Manzanares
*Miguelito Romero
* Giselle & Micky Cruz
* Raven Chacon – 2025 Robb Award
* other artists to be announced

FREE City of ABQ street & meter parking. FREE UNM surface lot parking at Central between Girard and Princeton. Convenient paid parking at UNM Cornell Parking Structure.

The twelfth annual 2025 ¡Música del Corazón! concert produced by the John Donald Robb Musical Trust will celebrate the rich cultural legacy of the accordion in the development of Hispano music of the American Southwest, with a particular focus on New Mexico. The performance showcases the instrument’s journey from European roots to its prominent place in Nuevo Mexicano folk and popular music.

Through live performances, storytelling, and historical context, the show highlights how the accordion became the iconic instrument in regional genres such as rancheras, norteñas, polkas, and valses. These styles, embraced and adapted by New Mexico’s Hispano communities, reflect a blend of Indigenous, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo influences. The accordion’s portability and versatility made it a staple at communitygatherings, dances, and celebrations, cementing its role in intergenerational cultural expression.

Featured artists—ranging from tradition bearers to contemporary interpreters—demonstrate how the instrument continues to evolve while honoring its roots. The program also explores the influence of oral traditions, family lineages, and local innovations in sustaining this vibrant musical heritage.

¡Música del Corazón! El Acordeón in New Mexico’s Hispano Musical Traditions offers audiences an immersive, heartfelt experience that underscores the accordion’s enduring place in the musical soul of New Mexico.