Recording of Long-Lost Opera Rediscovered by BU Researcher Now Available to Stream and Buy
El Caminante, a forgotten Latin American opera, was performed at BU for the first time in a century and has just been released by a major label
Mezzo-soprano Juliette Kaoudji (CFA’26) sings the role of Ginesa in a rehearsal for El Caminante’s (re)premiere at the Tsai Performance Center in 2024.
Recording of Long-Lost Opera Rediscovered by BU Researcher Now Available to Stream and Buy
El Caminante, a forgotten Latin American opera, was performed at BU for the first time in a century and has just been released by a major label
This article was originally published in The Brink on September 11, 2025. By Sophie Yarin. Photos by Cydney Scott
EXCERPT
In 2020, opera tenor and Boston University researcher David Guzmán discovered a buried treasure hidden in an archive: part of the score of a century-old forgotten opera. Over the next few years, he uncovered the rest of the long-neglected masterpiece, finding more of the music, piecing together the libretto. In November 2024, Guzmán coordinated a performance of the work, El Caminante, by Cuban composer Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes, at BU’s Tsai Performance Center, reintroducing to the world a rare and moving example of the Latin American operatic tradition.
It was the first time it had been heard in close to 100 years.
Now an all-new recording of the opera is available for all to stream and buy thanks to Navona Records, the Grammy-winning classical imprint of Parma Recordings, which is also home to works by the London Symphony Orchestra.
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A one-act opera that premiered at Havana’s Teatro Nacional in 1921, El Caminante, based on the poem-play “Era Él” (“It Was Him”) by Spanish writer Francisco Villaespesa, was performed only a handful of times before it ended its run and entered obscurity. Unlike many works by European composers, it’s not a tragedy—the themes of faith, myth, and love do not resolve in death.
“Set in a humble rural home, El Caminante tells the story of Yolanda, a young paraplegic woman, and her mother, Ginesa, who both yearn for healing,” Guzmán says. “When a mysterious stranger—El Caminante (“the traveler”)—arrives, he offers Yolanda love and hope, ultimately restoring her ability to walk, before disappearing, leaving only his cloak behind.”
The opera’s reintroduction to the public in 2024 starred Guzmán as the traveler, alongside CFA student Juliette Kaoudji (CFA’26) (mezzo-soprano) as Ginesa and BU alum and opera star Michelle Johnson (CFA’07) (lead soprano) as Yolanda. The three reprised their roles for the 2025 Navona recording.
“Following the premiere, my inbox was flooded with praise for the performance—from ‘terrific’ to ‘stunning’—and expressing admiration for the incredible labor behind the rediscovery and reconstitution of El Caminante,” says Harvey Young, dean of CFA and a College of Arts & Sciences professor of English, a supporting partner of the project. “Navona, the classical arm of Parma Recordings, is a dream partner.”
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Guzmán says the BU Opera Institute played a major role in El Caminante’s reemergence, with institute director and conductor William Lumpkin, a CFA associate professor of music, and Oshin Gregorian, managing director of the institute and of CFA’s opera programs, overseeing the production and the eventual partnership with Navona. Lumpkin also conducted the BU Symphony Orchestra performance.
Boston University School of Music: Opera Institute’s Recording of El Caminante Released on PARMA’s GRAMMY®-winning Navona Records Label
Navona Records’ newest release, El Caminante, a rediscovered Cuban opera that had its world (re)premiere at BU, is available to stream/buy on August 22.
How a BU Researcher Found and Revived a Long-Lost Operatic Masterpiece
Cuban composer Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes’ opera El Caminante, rediscovered after more than a century, had its world (re)premiere at Boston University.