Orchestral Works

Viva Concha! Rose of the Presidio

Book and Music by Candace Forest 

Chamber Musical

Click on the image, below, to view a slide show / movie about Viva Concha! Rose of the Presidio!

An epic story of love, loyalty and politics from California’s romantic Spanish past has been turned into a dazzling piece of theatre by composer/writer, Candace Forest. Viva Concha! Rose of the Presidio tells the story of the great love affair between Concepción Arguello, Commandant Arguello’s beautiful daughter, and Russian nobleman, Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, Chamberlain to the Czar of Russia, who sailed into the harbor of what is now San Francisco in the spring of 1806. Rezanov was in search of food for his fur-trading company in Alaska, but instead he encountered the great love of his life in Concha, said to be the most beautiful girl in Alta California.

The path of true love never runs smoothly and this story is no exception. Due to the politics of the day and the fact that she was Roman Catholic and he was Russian Orthodox, the head priest at Mission Dolores denied permission for them to marry. Instead, he insisted that Rezanov get back on his ship, The Juno, and travel first to Russia to obtain permission from the Czar, then to Spain to secure permission from the King and finally, to the Vatican in Rome to secure permission from the Pope.

As the story unfolds, there is much joy, laughter, music and dance before the inevitable separation of the couple. Soaring melodies, touching duets and rousing dance numbers unfold in this colorful story of enduring love and great passion.

For more information, visit www.vivaconcha.com. For sound files from the Viva Concha CD, elsewhere on this site, click here.