The Florida Chamber Orchestra, led by conductor Marlene Urbay, is giving audiences a glimpse into the future of opera with up-and-comers from South Florida.
The nave at St. Dominic Catholic Parish in Miami will resonate with their powerful voices in 鈥溾�� at 8 p.m. on Sunday, June 1.
Part of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium鈥檚 鈥淎way From Home鈥� series鈥攁n initiative bringing the arts to unexpected venues during the auditorium鈥檚 renovation鈥斺�滶choes of Tomorrow鈥� will feature vocalists from the studio of tenor and vocal coach Manny P茅rez.
The performers鈥擩osue Brizuela, Claudia C茅spedes, Ana Collado, Mayara Garc铆a, London Guti茅rrez, Dalila Lugo, Silvio Plata, and Isaac Rodr铆guez鈥攔epresent a wide spectrum of backgrounds, stories, and ambitions. They鈥檒l be performing selections from 鈥淩igoletto,鈥� 鈥淟a Boh猫me,鈥� 鈥淐os矛 fan tutte,鈥� 鈥淢ar铆a La O,鈥� 鈥淟鈥檈lisir d鈥檃more,鈥� and 鈥淐ecilia Vald茅s.鈥�
Plata, a 21-year-old tenor born in Nicaragua and raised in Miami, this performance is deeply personal. 鈥淐lassical music became my greatest passion,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t started as a hobby, but everything changed when I was offered a full scholarship to the University of Miami. I felt like life was giving me a sign.鈥�
The young singer who lost his sight as a child due to retinal cancer, feels music as a lifeline and a new way of perceiving the world. 鈥淚 was just a year or two old when my parents had to make the decision to remove both of my eyes. We had no resources, and the community came together to help us. Music gave me a way to give something back鈥攕omething that brings peace, joy, and comfort.鈥�
He describes music as a sixth sense. 鈥淓very song, every opera tells a story. It鈥檚 how I understand emotions, how I understand my surroundings. Even though I lost my vision, music gave me a new way of seeing.鈥�
Also taking the stage is a 20-year-old Cuban-American soprano currently studying at Juilliard. 鈥淥pera wasn鈥檛 something I grew up with,鈥� Lugo admits. 鈥淢y parents are not musicians鈥攎y dad, Blas Lugo, is actually a former international chess master. Music just wasn鈥檛 part of my heritage.鈥�
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Still, she recalls singing constantly as a child. Her parents encouraged it, even if they didn鈥檛 always understand it. 鈥淚 was humming and singing in the car all the time. When I was seven, I started voice lessons with an opera singer, and it completely changed my path.鈥� Along with a fierce commitment to mastering her voice, her love of opera deepened through years of study with Cuban-American colatura soprano Eglise Guti茅rrez, also a student of Perez鈥檚.
Now a student at one of the most prestigious conservatories in the world, Lugo finds opera to be more relevant than ever. 鈥淧eople think opera is old-fashioned or inaccessible, but it tells real stories about real people. It鈥檚 more relatable than people realize.鈥� She also sees her participation in 鈥淓choes of Tomorrow鈥� as a way to bridge generations. 鈥淭his concert makes opera accessible. It invites people in without intimidating them. And that鈥檚 how we keep this art form alive.鈥�
Her performance of Ernesto Lecuona鈥檚 鈥淪iboney鈥� promises to be a highlight. 鈥淚 love coming back to Miami to sing songs in Spanish. In New York, I rarely hear zarzuela or Latin American art songs. Here, it feels like home.鈥�
At the heart of it all is Urbay, whose artistic leadership has shaped the Florida Chamber Orchestra into one of the few fully professional chamber ensembles in South Florida. As the orchestra approaches its 30th anniversary in 2026, 鈥淓choes of Tomorrow鈥� is also a reflection of her enduring legacy.
The daughter of acclaimed Cuban conductor Jose Ramon Urbay, Marlene came to Miami in 1991 as a political refugee with a distinguished international r茅sum茅 but few professional prospects. She graduated from the University of Miami in the mid-1990s, rebuilding her credentials in a new country. 鈥淣one of the doors opened for me,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淪o I did the only thing I knew how to do: I started my own orchestra.鈥�
Now 61, Urbay has led the Florida Chamber Orchestra for nearly three decades. Made up of 30 local musicians who also perform with the Florida Grand Opera and Miami City Ballet orchestras, Palm Beach Symphony and the Naples Philharmonic, the orchestra鈥檚 programming often blends classical repertoire with Latin American and Cuban music to reach wider audiences. 鈥淥ne thing that makes us different,鈥� she says, 鈥渋s that we don鈥檛 only perform Beethoven鈥攚e also play Lecuona.鈥�
Her mission has always included creating space for new generations of musicians. 鈥淚鈥檝e presented talented young performers every season,鈥� she explains. 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 a pianist at age eleven or a young singer just starting out鈥攖hese are the future voices of music.鈥�
But running a professional orchestra hasn鈥檛 been easy. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 teach you how to be an entrepreneur in music school,鈥� says Urbay. 鈥淚 had to learn how to raise money, how to build an audience, how to keep going even when resources were scarce. And being a Latina woman in this field? That鈥檚 another challenge altogether.鈥�
Still, her resilience and vision have endured, as she explains: 鈥淲e鈥檝e carved out our own identity. Our audience knows who we are. And this concert is proof that the future of opera isn鈥檛 just alive鈥攊t鈥檚 thriving.鈥�
IF YOU GO
WHAT: 鈥淓choes of Tomorrow鈥� by the Florida Chamber Orchestra as part of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium鈥檚 鈥淎way From Home鈥� series.
WHERE: St. Dominic Catholic Parish. 5909 NW 7th St., Miami
WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday, June 1.
For ticket information: Call 305-993-9855 or visit .
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