Scene 1
A settlement on the site of present day Barelas – 1680
The curtain opens on Don Pedro Barela, founder of Barelas, with his Native American lover, River. The sounds of a battle fill the air and Don Ignacio, captain of a Spanish force, enters. Ignacio knocks River to the ground and shoots Barela, thinking that he also is Native American. Horrified to find that the man he has killed is Spanish, Ignacio seeks to cover up his deed by stabbing Barela with an arrow. Barela's daughter Marcelina enters and promises her dying father that she will keep alive his dream of a city on the banks of the Rio Grande. As the killing continues, a Shaman pronounces a curse: Ignacio will live forever to expiate his sin; Marcelina will also live forever to keep the dream of Barelas alive – but her blessing will be to forget everything but that dream.
Scene 2
Building a city, 1100-1850.
The town of Barelas rises. Four corridor singers appear throughout the opera to narrate the history that passes. Marcelina presides over a happy and thriving community. Ignacio enters, pursuing an escaped slave Marigold. The people of Barelas help Marigold escape. Marigold and River are caught in the maelstrom of the Shaman's curse and become Marcelina's companions through the story.
Scene 3
A street in Barelas, 1850–1900
Ignacio remembers the Shaman's curse as he struggles with his feelings for Marcelina. He dismisses the curse as the curse of a savage. The railroad comes and spurs boom times. The boom is followed by a bust. Ignacio appears during the boom as a land speculator and forecloses on the people during the bust. Ignacio is unmoved by the plight of the people. A riot breaks out and Marcelina is injured. She decries violence as a solution to the town's problems. Ignacio and Marcelina are attracted to each other, but when Ignacio discovers that Marcelina is the daughter of the man he killed he is horrified and in despair. The bust and drought force the people to leave Barelas. Marcelina gives way to despondency. Don Barela's spirit urges her not to give up – to keep the spirit of Barelas alive.
Scene 4
Barelas and a battlefield in Flanders, 1917
An ocean apart, Marcelina and Ignacio think of each other. Ignacio, ever the soldier, prepares for yet another assault on German lines. Back in Barelas, Marcelina wonders when people will abandon violence and learn to forgive, love, and live together in peace. .
Scene 5
Barelas, 1920–1945
An extended dance sequence in a night club depicts Barelas from the 20s through the 40s. An officer in the U.S. Army, Ignacio again meets Marcelina. She again does not remember him. He is attracted to her and yet bears the guilt of her father's murder. Just as they fall in each others' arms, River appears to reveal to Marcelina that the man she is embracing is a monster who has killed Marcelina's father. Marcelina recoils in horror as we are transported to...
Los Alamos/While Sands/Hiroshima, 1945
Humanity attains the ultimate violence – the ability to destroy itself. The famous news photo of scientists at White Sands is recreated as the first nuclear test and the ensuing explosion at Hiroshima occur. As Marcelina and the people watch, a woman of Hiroshima enters amid the fallout and dies.
Act II
Scene 1
A place out of time
Marigold, now a freed slave is looking at old pictures and reminiscing. Ignacio in his own space is in torment. He loves Marcelina but the curse dooms them to separation. Marigold urges Ignacio to follow his heart and find his redemption in Marcelina.
Downtown Albuquerque, 1950s.
The corrido singers set the scene. The city struggles with discrimination. Marcelina and Marigold have been shopping and Marcelina insists on entering a restaurant despite a sign barring "coloreds and Mexicans." Marcelina and Marigold are first ignored and then told to leave. Marcelina shames the people, telling them "our community stands for tolerance, love and understanding." Marcelina is escorted from the restaurant and Marigold is assaulted and thrown out the door. River tells Marigold to strike back; despite Marcelina's attempts to stop the escalation of violence Marigold shatters the window of the restaurant.
Scene 2
The train station, 1960s.
As some wait for sons and husbands to return from Vietnam, others are there to protest the war. Among the veterans arriving home is Ignacio. He and Marcelina see each other, but River reminds Marcelina of Ignacio's guilt. Marcelina and Ignacio sing separately of the bond they share and their despair.
Scene 3
A deserted street in Barelas, 1980's.
Ignacio's guilt has driven him to the street, homeless. Marigold has become a drug addict, and as she tries to buy drugs River enters. In a struggle River is stabbed, by one of
the drug dealers. Ignacio comes to her aid and takes her through the bosque to Marcelina's house. River is amazed at the transformation in Ignacio; Marcelina's love has re-awakened humanity in him. For the first time he feels the full weight of his guilt.
Marcelina's house.
As River lies dying, she tells Marcelina that Ignacio has changed and that he deserves forgiveness. As River's soul leaves her body she calls on the Shaman to lift the curse.
Scene 4
A place out of time.
The Shaman warns that if the curse is lifted all Marcelina's memories will return and she will have the choice of whether to forgive Ignacio or not. River says that the choice is all she asks. As the curse is lifted, the events of the past swirl around Marcelina and she regains all memory of the past 300 years. As her eyes clear a serene expression is on her face. Marigold takes her to Ignacio, who is holding the arrow he used to kill Don Barela. Marcelina takes the arrow – Ignacio stoically expects her to use it to kill him. Instead she breaks the arrow, and sings, "I know, I remember, I forgive!" She and Ignacio clasp hands and see a vision of the future.
Barelas, 2006
The people of Barelas watch the sun rise over a future bright as the sun. Learning from the past everyone has come to love, forgive and erase spite from their hearts.
