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Ópera de Tenerife presenta el último título de la temporada lírica: El Gato Montés, de Manuel Penella, que tendrá una sola representación mañana sábado [día 29] a las 19:30 horas en la Sala Sinfónica del Auditorio de Tenerife y para el que las entradas ya están agotadas. La magistral composición que narra el apasionante triángulo amoroso en una Andalucía de profundidad lorquiana estará bajo la dirección de Salvador Vázquez, que hace su debut en la ópera tinerfeña.

El director insular de Cultura, José Luis Rivero, comentó que “el lleno absoluto de esta función también responde al impulso en los abonos de Ópera de Tenerife, que ya hemos aumentado en un 45 por ciento”. “Esto demuestra que la ópera, el lenguaje musical escénico más completo, está más presente, viva y abierta que nunca”, explicó el director insular, quien afirmó que “el público está respondiendo a nuestros proyectos de Ópera de Tenerife”.

Para el director de escena, Raúl Vázquez, “es un sueño que un debutante como yo pueda llevar a escena con un equipo así una obra maestra como ésta y también es un honor y un privilegio, pero sobre todo un reto”. “Ojalá todas las casa de ópera valorasen las ideas como lo hace Ópera de Tenerife, dando oportunidades a gente nueva”, deseó el joven maestro, en cuya visión escénica se ha alejado de los tópicos buscando “espacios emocionales, más que físicos”.

Salvador Vázquez se colocará por primera vez al frente de la Sinfónica de Tenerife para este título. “Estaré eternamente agradecido a Ópera de Tenerife por esta oportunidad”, reconoció el director musical malagueño, quien lleva trabajando en el Auditorio de Tenerife un mes, en el que “he crecido muchísimo con estos grandes artistas: tienen una gran joya”. “Esta ópera española tiene referencias continuas a la música andaluza y se pueden reconocer saetas, seguidillas y sevillanas, entre otros”, analizó el maestro.

Mariola Cantarelo, con 20 años de carrera a sus espaldas, confiesa que “en Tenerife estoy en casa, me siendo parte de esta familia, donde todo se vive de forma muy intensa”. La soprano española cuenta que “todo el elenco nos llevamos muy bien y esa complicidad se nota en el escenario, donde nos dejamos el alma en cada función”. “Este papel es un regalo y que una andaluza cante el rol Soleá le puede aportar ese duende que necesita y que yo trato de darle”, reflexiona la cantante, quien comparte que “hemos trabajado mucho en un acento andaluz cerrado”.

El tenor Gillen Munguía empezó su carrera como cantante en esta isla dentro de Opera (e) Studio “y eso me ha abierto muchas puertas y ahora debuto con grandes artistas a los que siempre he admirado, como Luis Cansino, con cuya interpretación me enamoré de la lírica hace años”. “Siempre llevaré a Tenerife en mi corazón”, sentenció el joven cantante que interpreta a Rafael Ruiz.

Para Luis Cansino “la cultura es la base de todo en nuestra sociedad”. Este barítono que cumple 32 años de carrera explica que “aquí hay excelentes personas y al final eso es lo más importante”. “Doy las gracias a Ópera de Tenerife por lo que están haciendo, convirtiendo a esta isla en un faro en la lírica de este país”, sostuvo el cantante, que interpreta al personaje que da nombre a este título: Juanillo el Gato Montés.

El argumento de esta ópera popular en tres actos, con libreto del mismo Manuel Penella Moreno (Valencia, 1880 – Cuernavaca, México 1939), inspirada durante un viaje del compositor por tierras andaluzas y estrenada en el Teatro Principal de Valencia el 23 de febrero de 1916, narra la rivalidad entre el torero Rafael Ruiz, el Macareno, y el bandolero Juanillo, conocido como el Gato Montés, por el querer de una gitana, Soleá. Obra maestra del género, considerada el máximo exponente de las melodías populares líricas españoles de la época, contiene el famoso pasodoble ‘Torero quiero ser’, donde se recogen todos los tópicos del españolismo con fuertes tintes del andalucismo mágico.

La propuesta de Ópera de Tenerife cuenta con las voces de Mariola Cantarero [Soleá]; Sandra Ferrández [Gitana]; Marina Pardo [Frasquita]; Tairuma Méndez [Loliya]; Luis Cansino [Juanillo, el Gato Montés]; Gillen Munguía [Rafael Ruiz, el Macareno]; Alberto Camón [Padre Antón]; Axier Sánchez [Hormigón]; Borja Molina [Caireles y Pezuño]; Néstor Suárez [Recalcao]; Galilea Arias [Pastorcillo]; Joniker Brito [Vendedor] y Juan Carlos Afonso [Alguacilillo].

La propuesta de escenografía de Carlos Santos nos plantea la opresión del mundo en el que se ve envuelta Soleá. De esta manera, se verá una gran caja cerrada, representando el mundo masculino de Rafael, encorsetando a la figura femenina de la protagonista, representado por un gran giratorio central. En este espacio único, de lugar y tiempo “indeterminado”, aparecerán elementos fuera de escala, como el gran portón central, que ejercerá de vía de entrada y salida  a este mundo interior, por donde accederán los personajes y elementos que interfieren en la protagonista, o elementos icónicos que nos trasladarán de un acto a otro según el transcurso de la obra.

A través del vestuario, con la firma de Massimo Carlotto, se ha buscado líneas mucho más depuradas y estilizadas para no caer en los tópicos andaluces sin perder la esencia de las características del folclore regional. Un punto de partida que tiene como inspiración la singular visión, sensual y fatalista del pintor Julio Romero de Torres.

La Sala de Cámara de Auditorio de Tenerife acoge el jueves [día 27] a las 20:00 horas un concierto muy especial: la Escuela Coral de Tenerife celebra la clausura de su segunda temporada, en la que niños, jóvenes y adultos han participado con dos clases semanales entre los meses de octubre y junio. La entrada es libre hasta completar aforo.

Esta cita, en la que también participará el Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife, servirá para poner a prueba el aprendizaje en canto, interpretación y percusión corporal que los casi cien alumnos han adquirido a lo largo del presente curso, impulsado nuevamente por el Cabildo Insular que, además, asumió su compromiso con esta formación con la inauguración de nuevas salas dedicadas íntegramente al ejercicio de la actividad coral en el Auditorio.

En el concierto, que tendrá una duración aproximada de noventa minutos, se abordará un repertorio contemporáneo, con algunas piezas de góspel, música sacra y música popular de diferentes regiones y países. Será un repertorio marcado también por el paso  por la Escuela de directores de renombre nacional e internacional, como Josu Elberdin, Basilio Astulez, Pedro Teixeira, Juan Manuel Brarda, Vanina Fernández y Esteban Conde; que han ofrecido actividades especiales, contribuyendo a reforzar el aprendizaje en áreas como la interpretación, la técnica vocal o la expresión corporal.

Para Roxana Schmunk, directora de la Escuela, este segundo curso ha servido para “afianzar el proyecto”, que ha crecido en componentes tanto en el grupo infantil como en el prejuvenil, con la gran sorpresa en cuanto a acogida del nuevo coro adulto, que reúne dos tardes en semana a más de cincuenta personas, demostrando que existe una inquietud por aprender música en este grupo de edad.

“La educación en música es una gran olvidada en nuestra sociedad y estamos muy orgullosos de poder ofrecer esta formación, que abre a las personas la posibilidad de introducirse en el mundo musical, con todos los beneficios  que ello conlleva, de manera gratuita”, explica Schmunk, quien concluye afirmando que “cantar en coro nos ayuda a canalizar nuestras emociones y a expresarnos de manera mucho más creativa”.

La Escuela Coral de Tenerife prepara ya su tercer curso, con fecha de arranque en el próximo mes de octubre y en el que se impulsará como novedad el grupo joven, una oportunidad para formar nuevos miembros para el Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife; metido de lleno tras solo tres años de existencia en concursos internacionales de gran nivel.

En el mes de septiembre se repetirá convocatoria de inscripciones, con el precedente de la realizada en este mismo mes de junio, en la que el grupo adulto ha duplicado su número de participantes.

La actividad de la Escuela también continuará en verano, con el Campamento Coral de Tenerife que se desarrollará del 1 al 5 de julio y que también ofrecerá un concierto final el 5 de julio en el Salón de Actos del IES La Laboral de La Laguna.

At 8:00 pm on Thursday the 27th Auditorio de Tenerife’s Sala de Cámara is hosting a very special concert: Escuela Coral de Tenerife’s closing event. In the school’s second season, kids, youths and adults have attended two classes per week from October to June. Admission to the event is free.

The show, also featuring Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife [Auditorio de Tenerife Young Choir], will test what the nearly one hundred students have learned about singing, interpretation and body percussion during the year. The course is promoted by the Island’s Cabildo that has also shown its commitment to this training by opening new rooms exclusively dedicated to choral singing at Auditorio.

The concert will last for approximately ninety minutes and it will include contemporary repertoire with some gospel, sacred, and popular music from different regions and countries. This repertoire is also marked by the visits of conductors of national and international renown like Josu Elberdin, Basilio Astulez, Pedro Teixeira, Juan Manuel Brarda, Vanina Fernández and Esteban Conde; these professionals have offered special activities, thus contributing to reinforce the learning of areas like interpretation, voice technique and body language.

In the point of view of school director Roxana Schmunk, in this second year the “project has been reinforced”, the number of members in the children and pre-juvenile groups has grown plus the new adult choir has had an amazingly good reception. More than fifty people get together twice a week, proof of how eager people in this age group are to learn music.

“Education in music has traditionally been neglected in our community and we are proud to offer this training, which opens the door to the chance of getting involved in the world of music and all the benefits it entails, at no cost”, Schmunk explains to then conclude by saying “singing in a choir helps us to channel our emotions and express ourselves more creatively”.

The Escuela Coral de Tenerife is now preparing its third course which is to start next October. As a novelty, it will be including a young group, a chance to train new future members of the Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife, which is fully immersed in top-level international competitions despite being just three years old.

A new application period will be available in September, after the call held this June, in which the adult group doubled its number of participants.

The activity of the Escuela continues in the summer with the Tenerife Choral Camp taking place from 1 to 5 July, which also includes a concert at the end of the camp, on 5 July at Salón de Actos of IES La Laboral de La Laguna.

Auditorio de Tenerife is hosting the premiere of  The Way, the third album by the marimba and cello tandem Socos Dúo. The presentation of the new compositions by Tenerife musicians César Martín and Ciro Hernández is taking place at 7:30 pm next Friday, the 28th at Sala de Cámara.

Consistent with their innovative style, they have put together a repertoire that highlights influences ranging from ancestral to modern, incorporating electronic elements that blend with their sound, marked by the marimba and the cello.

With two records in the market and a ten-year career, Socos Dúo go on with their work inspired by the concept of path as they see their music as a route, a journey starting off at the first note and not stopping in time, taking up a sound space that aims at trapping the audience and sharing with them sensations and emotions.

Socos Dúo, which was set up in January 2008, steers away from convention and looks at jazz, folklore, post-minimalism and their passion for new sounds which has led them to research and feed on different sources to produce a distinct and personal repertoire.

Tickets can be purchased through the usual Auditorio de Tenerife sale channels: at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday except holidays, via www.auditoriodetenerife.com  or by phone on 902 317 327.

In March 2014 Socos Duo’s first record These times we are living came out, making it clear that both instruments are perfect tandem. In 2017 they premiere Mantra, going further down the path they took on their first record and creating their own repertoire in the company of the unusual timbre of Uìyanga Bold, a young and old voice at once that reflects ancestral traditions permeable to new currents.

MAPAS 2019 [South Atlantic Performing Arts Market] will welcome 150 head of programming and cultural managers coming from 40 countries worldwide to take part in the third year of this international event, which is taking place from 10 to 14 July. They can have professional meetings here with 166 artistic groups and agencies from 35 African, Latin American and Southern European countries and see 60 shows during this five-day event.

The fast business meetings –brief professional meetings of programmers, artists and agencies- will be held at TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes on 12 and 13 July. In addition, there will also be a full professional programme including training, circulation activities and debates with internationally relevant speakers. Meetings with institutions connected to music and the performing arts from all over the world are also taking place.

A large proportion of programmers registered for MAPA 2019 come from Southern Europe (Spain, France and Portugal) and Latin America, in addition to many programming heads coming from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

There is also a large representation of programmers coming from Africa as professionals are joining us from Cape Vert, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger or South Africa, among other. MAPAS 2019 is also welcoming programmers from South Korea, Australia, Germany, Canada, the US, Slovenia, the UK, Georgia, Ireland and Romania. 

Last year, in MAPAS 2018 more than 3,500 business meetings were held between programmers and artists from three continents. Also, more than 16,000 people attended the shows open to the public.

Both the artists and the programmers registered to take part in this year’s MAPAS can be seen on the website www.mapasmercadocultural.com

MAPAS, organised by the Cabildo de Tenerife, unahoramenos and Circulart will once again make Tenerife an international spot for the performing arts and music, taking up the main cultural venues in the city in a venture than combines professional management and artistic exhibition, training and analysis with the aim of giving international scope to the proposals of creators from Africa, Latin America and Southern Europe and strengthen the structure of creative industries.

Auditorio de Tenerife is offering the eighth Hula workshop -the traditional Hawaiian dance- from 24 June to 5 July. Yurena Namahana approaches Hawaiian culture through its dance and music, and the workshop also offers participants the chance to learn songs, steps and the traditional costumes of this island in the Pacific. You can enrol by sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

There are three types for adults and one for children. A show is put on at the end of the workshop, at 9:00 pm on 5 July, so that participants can display what they have learnt. It will take place at Sala de Cámara in Auditorio and admission is free.

The classes for adult women, called Hula Wāhine, are on 24, 26 & 28 June, 1, 3 & 5 July and it is held at different times to suit all levels, although participants can enrol in all the workshops if they wish.

So, from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm is the timetable for the advanced level - the Hula Kahiko- Ancestral Hula with a strong, vigorous dance in honour of King Kamehameha, the Great. On the same dates but from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, there is Hula for all levels, ‘Auwana, Contemporary Hula with a joyful, elegant dance on a beautiful place of Oʻahu.

Finally, Hula Keiki, is taking place on 25 & 27 June, 2 & 4 July, for children aged from 8 to 12. This is an ancestral dance about the beauty of the world dedicated to children. This activity is part of the Educational and Social Area of Auditorio de Tenerife, with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa and Obra Social “la Caixa”.

In the Hula workshops participants will learn the Oli Aloha, an Aloha chant that carries the true feeling of the Aloha spirit; Hula basic steps and its Hawaiian names, accompanied by the Ipu Heke (a traditional instrument); and a whole Hula Kahiko: ancestral Hula or Hula ‘Auwana: contemporary Hula. You will also have the chance to buy a Hula dance skirt and Hawaiian Pareos.

Yurena Namahana was born and bred in Tenerife, Canary Islands, where aged two she went on stage for the first time, thus starting her dancing, singing and performing career. She lived in O‘ahu, Hawaii from 2006 to 2018 to connect with her Pacific roots. She studied ancestral Hula and in 2010 became the first Kumu Hula, Hula teacher of the Canaries and Spain.

She has danced and given Hula workshops in Hawaii, New Zealand, Japan, Málaga, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.  Yurena Namahana has also led ceremonies for different dignitaries, including distinguished judges, the bishop president of the US episcopal church and the governor of Hawaii.

She has taken part in several major documentaries about Hula and for six years she was the Kumu Hula of a famous private school in Honolulu, teaching more than 350 students. Yurena Namahana currently shares the Aloha through the Hula in her classes and performances in the Canary Islands.

Cabildo de Tenerife’s cultural centre, Auditorio de Tenerife, opens today 19 June, the enrolment period to take part in the 2019-20 season Escuela del Espectador. The course is aimed at citizens who need not have prior knowledge but wish to improve on their skills in the artistic languages included in the programme offered at the Auditorio. This activity is part of the Tenerife 2030 strategy fostered by the Cabildo.

The main goal of the programme is to carry out a learning process that in the medium term enables participants to deepen their knowledge of the different aspects involved in opera, dance and music shows. It also gives them the chance to attend for free some of the events held at Auditorio de Tenerife with a view to motivating analysis and reflection, offering pre-show talks for each of the genres so that they become active audience members.

If you are interested in participating in the 2019/2020 course please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 2:00 pm on 10 July 2019 enclosing the following questionnaire once you have filled it in:

 Enrol now

Participants selected for the new Escuela del Espectador will be announced on 22 July.

The course starts on 10 September at 7:30 pm in Auditorio de Tenerife. During the year, meetings, which will take place once a fortnight at 7:00 pm and last for 90 minutes, will alternate sessions with the project coordinator, Iván Morales, and talks with artists and creators.

For the second year in a row, the Choral Camp is being held at IES La Laboral de La Laguna from 1 to 5 July. This summer training activity by Escuela Coral de Tenerife offers participants the chance to share learning through rehearsals, classes and a final concert to showcase everything they have learnt during the week.

To guarantee the quality of the experience, the Escuela has engaged teachers of international renown: Basilio Astulez, Esther Andueza, Juan Pablo Agudelo, María Claudia Peña and Paulo Vassalo.

Apart from the three choir groups to be divided by age from 8-year-old on, the Camp also features special activities for pianist wishing to train as accompanist, choral singers or conductors who wish to polish their conducting technique.

You can enrol until Monday, 24 June through a form on the Tenerife Artes Escénicas website, in the section Escuela Coral www.tenerifeartesescenicas.com/escuela-coral

The final concert, which is free of charge, will be held on 5 July at 7:30 pm at Salón de Actos of IES La Laboral.

Teachers

Juan Pablo Agudelo graduated in Musical Education from the Faculty of Arts in the University of Antioquía. He is also founder and principal conductor of the Ensamble Vocal Polimnia de Marinilla, general manager of the Choir Programme of the Rionegro Municipality and professor at the Faculty of Music of Fundación Universitaria Bellas Artes in Medellín.

Esther Andueza is a pianist and head of the Repertoire and Singing department of Conservatorio Profesional Arturo Soria de Madrid. She specialised in vocal accompaniment with different maestros in Spain and Italy.

Basilio Astulez teaches Choral singing at the Conservatorio Municipal de Leioa in the Basque Country. He founded the Leioa Kantika Korala children’s choir in 2001, the young women’s choir La Kantoria in 2005 and the mixed choir SJB in 2007. This young choir school, which has more than 200 singers of ages ranging from 7 to 25, has won numerous awards at Spanish and European competitions.

María Claudia Peña is director and teacher at the Coro de Intermezzo del Coro de Jóvenes de la Ciudad de Nueva York (Young People’s Chorus of New York City- YPC), made up by 130 choristers aged from 10 to 14. Its activities include, apart from the introduction to choral methodology in New York state schools with no resources, a programme that was recently acknowledge by the PASE organisation (Partnership of After School Educators), that rewards excellence in educators of out-of-school activities.

Paulo Vassalo Lourenço is a doctor in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati/College-Conservatory of Music and he currently teaches in the Higher School of Music in Lisbon. His teaching career has won him an international standing, so he has given courses in France, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Denmark, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, China, Singapore, Israel and Turkey.

The Choir School and Camp are both initiatives of Cabildo de Tenerife under its Education and Social Areas and its Tenerife 2030 strategy with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa and Obra Social ‘la Caixa’.

El Auditorio de Tenerife programa el último espectáculo de la compañía del reconocido bailarín Hofesh Shechter, Grand Finale, que incluye  a un nutrido cuerpo de baile y una banda música que toca en directo. Las funciones serán los días 18 y 19 de septiembre en la Sala Sinfónica a las 20:00 horas y las entradas ya están a la venta.

Grand Finale es una pieza audaz y ambiciosa, que es a la vez cómico, sombrío y bello, evocando un mundo en conflicto consigo mismo, lleno de energía anárquica y comedia violenta. Filtrando este espíritu irrefrenable, Shechter crea una visión de un mundo en caída libre: parte concierto, parte danza, parte teatro y totalmente original.

La diversa tribu de extraordinarios bailarines internacionales de la compañía proviene de nueve países diferentes. Se trata de Robinson Cassarino, Chien-Ming Chang, Frédéric Despierre, Rachel Fallon, Mickaël Frappat, Natalia Gabrielczyk, Yeji Kim, Kim Kohlmann, Erion Kruja, Attila Ronai, Hannah Shepherd y Bruno Guillore, director artístico asociado.

La coreografía y música del espectáculo llevan la firma del propio Hofesh Shechter, mientras que la escenografía y el vestuario están diseñados por Tom Scutt. La iluminación corre a cargo de Tom Visser y colaboran con la música Nell Catchpole y Yaron Engler.

Grand Finale es el último trabajo completo de su canon, que se estrenó en La Villette con el Théâtre de la Ville de París el 14 de junio de 2017 y fue nominado al Premio Olivier a la Mejor Producción de Danza Nueva.

Las entradas pueden adquirirse en los canales habituales de Auditorio de Tenerife, en taquilla de 10:00 a 19:30 horas, de lunes a sábado excepto festivos, a través de www.auditoriodetenerife.com  o por teléfono en el 902 317 327.

Además de actuar, la compañía del bailarín israelí realizará un workshop con bailarines locales. Será el 19 de septiembre de 11:00 a 13:00 horas en el Auditorio de Tenerife y con un coste de 25 euros. Este taller está recomendado para bailarines mayores de edad de nivel semiprofesional y profesional.

Para inscribirse es necesario enviar un correo electrónico antes del 4 de septiembre a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. indicando la edad, género, experiencia y nivel como bailiarín, además de adjuntar un currículum y especificar si precisa de alguna necesidad especial o limitación a la hora de realizar el workshop.

El taller, liderado por dos bailarines de la compañía comenzará con un calentamiento para presentar el estilo de movimiento y preparar el cuerpo, seguido de una exploración del repertorio, donde los participantes aprenderán breves extractos de uno de los trabajos de Hofesh Shechter.

La compañía

Con sede en el Reino Unido pero actuando en los principales escenarios de todo el mundo, la compañía de Hofesh Shechter celebra e inspira la libertad del espíritu humano. Creen que la danza tiene la habilidad de prodigar, hurgar y explotar las emociones más profundas; una parte visceral del ser humano a la que rara vez se tiene acceso en la vida moderna.

“Bailamos para saber lo que se siente, no sólo para vivir, sino para estar vivos”, explica la compañía, que “en todos nuestros trabajos nos esforzamos por movernos a nosotros mismos, y a nuestras audiencias, más allá de la razón”.

Fundada en 2008, su repertorio incluye Levantamiento (2006), En sus habitaciones (2007), El arte de no mirar atrás (2009), Madre Política (2010), Madre Política: The Choreographer's Cut (2011), Sun (2013), Bárbaros (2015) y Grand Finale (2017). Han actuado en ciudades de todo el mundo como París, Nueva York, Melbourne, Tokio, Berlín, Tel Aviv, Roma, Seúl, Río de Janeiro y muchas más.

En 2018 la compañía vivió varios hitos: la continuación de la gira internacional de Grand Finale, un renacimiento de la producción de Gluck's Orphée et Eurydice de Hofesh en La Scala de Milán, codirigida por John Fulljames, y una gira internacional y británica de SHOW, realizada por la compañía de aprendices, Shechter II.

East Wall, el proyecto de desarrollo de talentos de cuatro años, culminó con un espectáculo a gran escala de danza y música en vivo en la Torre de Londres, en asociación con East London Dance, Historic Royal Palaces y LIFT.

El coreógrafo Hofesh Shechter es reconocido como uno de los artistas más excitantes que trabajan en escena hoy en día, conocido por componer partituras musicales atmosféricas para complementar la fisicalidad única de su movimiento. Es director artístico de la empresa británica Hofesh Shechter Company, fundada en 2008. La compañía es residente en Brighton Dome y Shechter es artista asociado de Sadler's Wells.

Shechter también ha escenificado y coreografiado obras en importantes compañías internacionales de danza, incluyendo el Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Ensemble, Candoco Dance Company, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 1, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet y Royal Ballet Flanders. Ha coreografiado para teatro, televisión y ópera.

En 2018, Hofesh Shechter recibió el premio OBE honorífico del Imperio Británico por Servicios a la Danza y la primera película de danza de la compañía, Payasos de Hofesh Shechter, fue transmitida por la BBC en septiembre con gran éxito.

On Friday, the 21st Sinfónica de Tenerife is giving its season closing concert under the baton of its principal conductor Antonio Méndez. The event also features soprano Eleanor Dennis and baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann. It is the first time both soloists perform with the Cabildo’s orchestra. The programme also includes the participation of two choirs: Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid and Coro Gulbenkian, the latter singing on the island for the first time too. Auditorio de Tenerife is hosting this programme that consists of A German Requiem, op.45 by Johannes Brahms.

Premiered in 1868, A German Requiem embodies the passage from musical Classicism to Romanticism apart from translating individual expression, as the author does away with Latin in favour of his mother tongue or offers his own interpretation of death. Brahms does without explicit connections to the Christian understanding of death, like the Last Judgment or eternal salvation. The composer is interested in death as a philosophical and vital issue, influenced by the death of his mother and his mentor, Robert Schumann, that took place within a short period. The issue raised in his work is how to live after the death of a loved one.

The composition starts as if emerging from an abyss where a choir is asking for comfort; then, the melody turns darker until it returns to the promise of future happiness. That is expressed in the second movement which, musically, is a funeral march. In the third movement, the baritone speaks directly to God and approaches the issue of the meaning of life as it was understood in the second half of the 19th century. That is why, Brahms is not asking God to forgive him but to hint at his future so that he can experience it to the full.  Clearly influenced by the philosophical movement championed by Schopenhauer or Nietzsche, Johannes Brahms pays no attention to the horror that the “end of life” caused in other composers like Mozart, as seen in his Dies Irae. Instead, his interpretation is that immortality consists of living on in the memory of future generations.

Antonio Méndez is becoming one of the most sought-after, established and fascinating conductors of his generation. This translates into the different connections he has established with the main orchestras in Europe, having conducted the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, StaatskapelleDresden, Scottish Chamber Orchestra or Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg.

The Balearic conductor studied piano and violin at the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Mallorca and then went on to study composition and conducting at Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid. In 2012 he won the first prize at the prestigious competition Malko in Copenhaguen and in 2013, he was finalist in the Nestlé and Salzburg Young Conductors Award, which caught the attention of the general public.

Scottish soprano Eleanor Dennis trained at the International Opera School of the Royal College of Music and as Harewood Artist at the English National Opera. It was after her performances at the London Handel Festival, in the leading role of Rodelinda, when she started to attract more attention. Specialised critics were quite conclusive: “she has a marvellous future. I’m not sure I can ever remember one who so obviously deserves to be a star” (Fiona Maddocks, The Observer). In 2012 she played Costanza, by Riccardo Primo, where Hugh Canning described her as a “great talent”.

The German bass-baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann teaches at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe and made his debut in 2000 at the Carnegie Hall with Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Barenboim. Hanno was a member of the Staatsoper Berlin from 1998 to 2011. He has also performed in the Baviera, Hamburg and Vienna State Operas in addition to San Francisco Opera. He has been praised by the international press for the different recitals he has given in festivals in Berlin, Graz, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Paris, Laussane, and at London’s Wigmore Hall, at the Schwarzenberg Schubertiade or at the Edinburgh Festival.

Recognised as one of the best and most versatile Spanish choirs, the Coro de la Comunidad de Madrid is back on the island thirteen years after their last visit. This prestigious group was set up in 1984 and is currently directed by choirmaster Félix Redondo. Its wide range of activities include a capella recitals and with orchestra, participating in opera productions or in recording studios. Its growing prestige has led them to perform on the main Spanish stages and on many abroad, including Germany, Belgium, France, Poland, China, Japan, Morocco or Mexico.

Coro Gulbenkian, their first time on the island, was set up in 1964 by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. It has 100 singers and is currently led by choirmaster Jorge Matta. Their repertoire encompasses the classical symphonic choral, Romantic, and contemporary although they also perform a cappella. The choir has been invited to collaborate with major international orchestras and conductors like Claudio Abbado, Colin Davis, Emmanuel Krivine, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Frans Brüggen, Franz Welser-Möst, Gerd Albrecht, Michael Gielen, Michael Tilson Thomas, Rafael Frübeck de Burgos, René Jacobs or Leonard Slatkin.

Tickets for this last concert are available at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm Monday to Saturday; by telephone on 902 317 327; or on the websites www.sinfonicadetenerife.es and www.auditoriodetenerife.com.

The Mercado de las Artes Performativas del Atlántico Sur, MAPAS 2019, [South Atlantic Performing Arts Market] completes its programme with the participation of 166 artistic groups and agencies from 35 countries coming to this international event to be held in Tenerife from 10 to 14 July. Heads of programming, curators, artistic directors and cultural managers can register until Saturday, 15 June.

All the companies, artists and music groups who have confirmed attendance are taking part in the business meetings and 60 of them, coming from 24 countries, have been also selected to perform before audience and programmers in sample shows to be put on in these five days at different venues in Santa Cruz: Auditorio de Tenerife and surrounding areas, Teatro Guimerá, La Granja Espacio de Creación and IES Alcalde Bernabé are some of the locations chosen for theatre, dance, circus, street art and music performances. Like in previous years, more than 20,000 people are expected to attend these shows.

TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes and Museo de la Naturaleza y la Arqueología complete the market’s venues. These places are hosting the speed business meetings and a busy programme of training activities and debates that will feature internationally relevant speakers and meetings with professionals of institutions related to music and the performing arts from all over the world.

MAPAS 2019 -organized by Cabildo de Tenerife, unahoramenos and Circulart- this year includes booking, management and distributions agencies. A total of 33 companies of this kind from 12 countries have been selected. They are taking part in the business meetings to be held on 12 and 13 July, with artists from Africa, Latin America and Southern Europe and programmers from any country.

As for the artistic and musical groups, they come from many different places: 64 are from Southern Europe (Spain and Portugal), 24 of which will be offering shows; 45 artists and musicians come from Latin America, with 18 performances; and 24 participants come from Africa with 18 of them performing before the audience and the programmers. MAPAS 2019 will welcome creators from Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Venezuela, Egypt, Ghana, Ruanda, Tunisia, Morocco, Mali, Cameroon or Madagascar, among others. The confirmed artists and the programmers feature on the MAPAS website www.mapasmercadocultural.com

MAPAS will once again make Tenerife an international spot for the performing arts and music, taking up the main cultural venues in the city in a venture than combines professional management and artistic exhibition, training and analysis with the aim of giving international scope to the proposals of creators from Africa, Latin America and Southern Europe and strengthen the structure of creative industries.

Auditorio de Tenerife welcomes at 12:00 noon on Sunday, 16 June the closing concert of the fifteenth Primavera Musical series, which was started by the Federación Tinerfeña de Bandas [Tenerife Bands Federation] with the collaboration of the Cabildo. After giving eleven concerts, the series ends by offering a concert performed by

Banda Insular de Música de la Federación Tinerfeña under the baton of Juan Antonio Rancel Tejera.
The programme starts with Cavalliers Templaris, by José Luis Peiró Reig. The 75 musicians who currently make up the ensemble will go on to play Música y vinos, by Manuel Morales Martínez, followed by José Alberto Pina’s Ghost Ship. Finally, the band closes their performance with Cry of the last unicorn, a composition by Rossano Galante.

The history of this ensemble goes back to the year 2000 when the assembly of the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife first put forward the idea of setting it up. It was eventually established in 2001 featuring 70 musicians from the federated bands of the island of Tenerife.
Shortly after making their debut and with Agustín Ramos Ramos as their first conductor, the band played in Valencia. Later, under the baton of José Manuel Encinoso Fernández, in 2003 they gave concerts in Tenerife and Gran Canaria. In 2004 their third series started with conductor Maximiano Vera Regalado, and they performed in Tenerife and Lanzarote.

On 3 April 2005 the Banda played at the Auditorio de Tenerife, starting the Primavera Musical series, which is organised by the Federación Tinerfeña and has the collaboration of the Island’s Cabildo. Several conductors have led the band since then and they have given concerts in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Valencia and Palma de Mallorca.

After conductors like José Luis Peiró Reig, José Andrés Sabina Fariña, Miguel Angel Expósito Marrero, Santiago Javier González Flores, Juan Antonio Domínguez Martín, José Hernández Toledo and Jesús Agomar Guillarma, the Band is currently made up by around 100 musicians from different Federation member bands and it has been directed by Juan Antonio Rancel Tejera since August 2018.