“Gustavo Leone’s “Mundo,” for voice and orchestra, draws its vocal text from the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Mayans, evoking a sense of pre-Columbian culture. Its lush, movie/music-like scoring, laced with jungle drums and soaring vocal lines, reminds one of the Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Forest of the Amazon.” It’s an unabashed crowd-pleaser, and soprano Michelle Areyzaga threw herself into it with rapturous expression and body language to match.”
—John von Rhein – Chicago Tribune, Aug. 4, 2008 (Grant Park Festival)