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For our feature on Our Lady of Guadalupe, which we published last week, I interviewed James DeMars, creator of “Guadalupe: Our Lady of the Roses.” He and his producer, Robert Doyle, sat down with me for a long interview before Thanksgiving and described some of the challenges behind writing the opera.

DeMars, who teaches at ASU, was originally asked to write a Requiem Mass for the immigrants who’ve died in the desert. Once he started looking into the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, though, he knew he’d have to write the opera-concert. There was just too much there, he said. The opera combines four different languages — Spanish, English, Latin and Nahautl — Juan Diego’s language. The performers are first class ‚ including Isola Jones, a Metropolitan Opera veteran, Robert Breault, a leading operatic tenor, and R. Carlos Nakai, who plays the traditional Native American flute.

To get a feel for the opera, which is coming up Dec. 11 and 13 at the Phoenix Art Museum, check out this preview video. I’ve heard the entire performance on CD. I don’t consider myself an opera buff, but this performance knocked me out. Music can often communicate what words can’t.