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Quantum Ensemble, Auditorio de Tenerife’s resident group, dives into other art forms with their concert Artes, designed to highlight the possible relationships of music with other arts. The repertoire includes pieces by Franz Schubert, Enrique Granados, Magnus Lindberg and Robert Schumann which are inspired by painting, literature, film, and music too. Auditorio de Tenerife’s Sala de Cámara is the venue for this concert to be held at 7:30 pm on Thursday, 21^st.

Accompanied by one of Quantum Ensemble’s founding musicians, clarinettist Cristo Barrios, the concert features soprano Anna Dennis, Tatiana Samouil violin, Yuval Gotlibovich, viola, Iván Siso cello and Javier Negrín piano. Rubens Askenar, a young Canarian composer based in London, doctor and teacher in composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London, will give a free talk to offer a context for the concert one hour before it begins.

Artes starts with Der Hirt auf dem Felsen (The Shepherd on the Rock), a famous lied by Schubert for soprano, clarinet and piano whose first four stanzas and the last one, were written by poet Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller, while the fifth and sixth are by Karl August Varnhagen von Ense. It is followed by Goyescas, a piano suite by Enrique Granados in which, although his intention is not to build a musical tale on a specific painting by Goya, he does describe the general atmosphere of his painting style.

After the break, Quantum Ensemble goes on to film. Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg was so impressed by Buster Keaton’s film Steamboat Bill, Jr. that in 1990 he decided to create a piece for clarinet and cello that tries to express the action of the film and follow its plot. Finally, Schumann’s Piano Quartet op. 47, which has a strong influence from Beethoven’s  String Quartet op. 127. They are both in E flat Major and use similar structures. Schumann’s quartet starts with a Sostenuto assai, just like Beethoven’s.

As part of their activities for Auditorio de Tenerife’s Educational and Social Area, Quantum Ensemble is now also giving school concerts with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa and Obra Social “la Caixa”. At 11:00 am on Thursday, the 21^st they will welcome 200 secondary school children from six different schools in La Laguna, Puerto de la Cruz and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Also, at 5:00 pm tomorrow, [Wednesday, the 20^th] under their Outreach programme, they welcome a group of people with eating disorders with the help of voluntaries of Obra Social “la Caixa”.

Finally, regarding their learning activities, on the 22^nd clarinettist Cristo Barrios is giving a Performance class to students of Conservatorio Profesional and Superior de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which are collaborating institutions.

Tickets for the concert can be booked at Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday, on www.auditoriodetenerife.com or calling 902 317 327. 

Danza en Comunidad, the social department of Tenerife Danza, starts a new course with 20 groups enrolled. The team welcomed the agents involved in the projects at a function that took place at Auditorio de Tenerife. The event was attended by the heads and participants of the groups or communities, open call applicants, local programmers, artistic collaborators and a representative of the project “Amiguitos y amiguitas” [Little friends] of Cabildo de Tenerife and La Laguna University.

The aim of these meetings is to agree initiatives regarding the work to be done during the project. “Danza en Comunidad also acts as mediator between different cultural agents, groups and individuals who want dance, body and movement to be used as a tool of personal and social transformation”, project coordinator Laura Marrero explained.

Professionals Cristina Hernández, Raquel Jara and Carmen Macías complete the Danza en Comunidad team, who for seven years has shared the experience of a professional of the art of movement through sessions structured in a dancer’s routine: warm up, working on stage presence and the construction of a dance show.

In this last stage, the atmosphere is filled with creativity, participation, collective creation and expression of the inner worlds of every participant. “Everyone contributes to the idea, the movements, the theme and even the costume for the stage design that will finally get made”, Marrero says.

The project currently has six programmes to offer the groups: Tarjeta de visita [Business Card], Juntos [Together], Cita a ciegas [Blind Date], Isla flotante [Floating Island], Transmisión [Transmission] and Paso a Paso [Step by Step]. There is also a continuation activity every Tuesday at Auditorio de Tenerife for people who have taken part in the project as a member of a group and wish to go on individually.

Also, Creadores en Comunidad is carried out once a year. It consists of a guest choreographer who makes a dance show for different participants. This year, Daniel Morales will be taking part in the project to work with teenagers. Danza en Comunidad also welcomes ideas of artists wishing to collaborate in the project.

There is an open call every year for people wishing to be part of the work done with the groups, they can register at Auditorio de Tenerife website.

Two new programmes were carried out last year and we started having two get-togethers a year with the participants to evaluate, create and build together. A total of over 700 people have experienced the art of movement thanks to Danza en Comunidad, which is part of Auditorio de Tenerife’s Educational and Social Area, with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa and Obra Social “la Caixa”.

In the six years the Project has been on, the Danza en Comunidad team has put on as many shows as groups they have worked with using the values chosen by the groups: respect, beauty, friendship, justice, courage, sensitivity and love. Working with so many people has revealed two main concepts the project currently focuses on: identity and coexistence.

In Danza en Comunidad they respect the time every individual needs to take in the dance tools, trying to find maximum mobility for each body with the aim of maximising the physical pleasure of moving. The relationship with the group, agreements, taking part, movement and ideas are key to build an atmosphere where everyone can exercise their right to move, create and express their sensitivity. 

El ciclo Primavera Musical, organizado por la Federación Tinerfeña de Bandas en colaboración con el Cabildo Insular, aborda su segunda sesión mañana [domingo 17] a partir de las 11:30 horas en la Sala de Cámara del Auditorio de Tenerife con 160 músicos de tres bandas. Las asociaciones musicales San Marcos, Nuestra Señora de Lourdes y Cruz Santa protagonizarán la sesión matutina, de entrada libre hasta completar aforo.

La Asociación Musical San Marcos, de Tegueste, compuesta por 35 músicos y bajo la dirección de Alicia Melián Rodríguez, abrirá el concierto. La formación fundada en el año 1989 tocará Doña Lola, de Francisco Grau Vergara; Land of Legends, de Andreas Ludwig Schulte; y, para terminar, sonará Dancing Show, de Josef Hastreiter.

Tomará entonces el relevo la Asociación Musical Nuestra Señora de Lourdes, de Valle Guerra, cuyos 45 músicos siguen la batuta de Samuel Hernández Ávila. El pasodoble Hispánico, de Nuno Osorio, será la primera pieza que toque la banda nacida en 1995, que continuará con Palindromía Flamenca, de A. Ruda Peco, para la cual contarán con José Manuel Molina al saxo soprano, Héctor González a la guitarra y Fabio García al cajón flamenco. Luego sonarán La Leyenda de Maracaibo, de José Alberto Pina, y Tico Tico, con arreglos de Naohiro Iwai.

Cierra el concierto la Agrupación Musical Cruz Santa, de Los Realejos, que contará con José Varela Pardo como director invitado, siendo José Manuel Álvarez Rodríguez el líder de la formación. Los 80 músicos de esta banda fundada en 1938 tocarán el pasodoble de concierto Enrique López, de Antón Alcalde Rodríguez; pasando luego a la Marcha mora de Ropería Ximo, de Francisco Valor Llorens; Ratafia, de Willy Fransen; para finalizar con Guilliver’s Travels, de Bert Appermont.

La siguiente cita de Primavera Musical tendrá lugar el domingo 24 de marzo a la misma hora y lugar y tocarán la A. M. Nueva Unión, de Los Silos; la S. M  Filarmónica, de Los Realejos; y la A. M. Nivaria, de Arafo.

In the fourth production this season, stage director Giuseppe Frigeni blends tradition and reinterpretation

Ópera de Tenerife presented on Friday, the 15^th the production of Turandot, to be put on next week at Sala Sinfónica in Auditorio de Tenerife. Performances are taking place on Tuesday, the 19^th, Thursday, 21^st and Saturday, the 23^rd at 7:30 pm. This opera by Giacomo Puccini is one of his most-widely performed titles. Set in the Far East, this posthumous work by Puccini includes arias like ‘Nessun dorma’, ‘In questa reggia’ or ‘Signore, ascolta’, which have reached beyond the stage and are now part of popular culture.

The details of this production were revealed by the Cabildo’s Director for Culture, José Luis Rivero; Ópera de Tenerife’s intendant, Alejandro Abrante; musical director Giampaolo Bisanti, and stage director, Giuseppe Frigeni.

José Luis Rivero said that “we have the best cast possible to perform this opera, which is nearly sold out in all three performances”. “We have exceptional guest artists, who often perform with us, in addition to Auditorio de Tenerife team, who do an excellent job”. “We’re proud of this title, we were looking forward to putting it on”, he stated, and revealed that “this title left a lasting impression when it was premiered, which we’ll bring back with this staging in Tenerife”.

Alejandro Abrante explained that “since opera seasons are held in Tenerife, from 1965 to the present, Turandot has been put on three times: in 1991, 2007 and now, 2019”. The last two were staged at Auditorio de Tenerife during the Ópera de Tenerife season and were directed by maestro Frigeni. “Turandot is a very complicated opera, as there are 80 people, just in the choir, in addition to the orchestra plus the cast, so it makes up quite a large group”, Abrante admitted.

Giuseppe Frigeni thanked Ópera de Tenerife for placing their trust on him and revealed that “although I did this title here in 2007, there will be some differences, for instance, in lighting but also in the performance”. The maestro said that “the quality of the artists and their predisposition has led to characters being adapted to their singing characteristics. “They were open to the director’s conceptualization, which is something that is not very common, so it’ll show in the performance”, and highlighted “the readiness and generosity of Auditorio de Tenerife’s technical team, which is not very usual in today’s show business”.

For this Turandot production, Giuseppe Frigeni has put together not very loud stage and visual elements so that they allow the music to resound rather than illustrate what it evokes: transparencies and effects seen against the light, a fluid sliding of planes and dimensions, dynamic contrasts, rituals and a somewhat engrossed atmosphere. Although he does take into account the oriental nature of the context, he has gone for abstraction, avoiding an excess of exotic elements or Chinese ornaments.

Maestro Giampaolo Bisanti, who works at Ópera de Tenerife for the first time, stressed the mutual respect and good vibes with maestro Frigeni, “which is quite unusual between a stage director and a musical director in an opera”. “I wish to personally thank Ópera de Tenerife because they have made me feel at home, and again, I’ve experienced this quite unusual situation, not only with my theatre colleagues but in the city too”.

Bisanti admitted that there has been a bidirectional relationship with Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, which he thinks is “professional and disciplined”. “Tenerife people will have the chance to see a top-quality product”, he promised.

This Ópera de Tenerife’s production includes the voices of Tiziana Caruso (Princess Turandot), Carlo Ventre (Calaf), Alexandra Grigoras (Liù), Carlo Malinverno (Timur), Blagoj Nacoski (Altoum); Alfonso Mujica, Biao Li and David Astorga (Ping, Pong and Pang, respectively), Aleksandr Utkin (a mandarin), Néstor Gálvan (Prince of Persia); María José Torres and Sara Ingrid Acosta (maids).

Costumes are by designer Amélie Haas. Her main inspiration is in the sober and pure Eastern designs, especially those from Japan; they agree with the intentions and principles of the aesthetics and dramatic direction, and the formal approach of the stage design so that her costumes go on stage in simple and pure abstract shapes, which are not didactic.

Performances are at 7:30 pm on Tuesday, the 19^th, Thursday, the 21^th and Saturday, the 23^rd at Sala Sinfónica in Auditorio de Tenerife. Tickets can be booked at Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday; on www.auditoriodetenerife.com or calling 902 317 327.

Inspired in a Persian poem, the libretto in Italian is by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni, and the music is by composer Giacomo Puccini [Lucca 1858 - Brussels 1924]. It tells the story of the cruel princess Turandot, who will only marry the suitor who deciphers the three riddles she suggests. If the answer is wrong, the candidate dies.

The opera was premiered at Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 25 April 1926 with director Arturo Toscanini. Since the composer did not finish the score, it was his pupil, Franco Alfano, who completed it.

There are several anecdotes about the premiere. Perhaps the best remembered is when the part for choir reached ‘Liù...Bontà!’,  conductor Toscanini, to pay homage to his friend of many years, put down his baton and turning to the audience said: ‘This is where the opera ends, because the maestro died at this point’, and ended the performance without including Alfano’s composition, which was played the following day.

This weekend Auditorio de Tenerife celebrates the World Theatre Day with two days of stage activities that include performances by actors José Piris and Cristina Collado. Two hundred students of Cabildo’s Escuelas de Teatro [Drama Schools] will have the chance to attend the talks by guest specialists, who will explain theatre contents that students can then apply to their group work and, finally, showcase what they have learnt.

The event starts on Saturday, the 16^th at 10:00 am with students aged under 15, who will enjoy a master class by José Piris. In this class they will work from four natural elements: water, air, earth and fire. In the actor’s opinion, “the four elements are, no doubt, an essential source of inspiration where the performance of body theatre grows”. “In every theatrical activity there’s an underlying dynamic, which comes from the effort and resistance through which our body evokes natural events and translates them into an imaginary reality”, Marcel Marceau’s student reflects.

José Piris, who was also invited last year to lead the World Theatre Day events at Auditorio de Tenerife, is the director of Escuela Internacional de Mimo y Teatro Gestual Nouveau Colombier [International School of Mime and Gestural Theatre]. He represents Marcel Marceau’s mime technique in Spain and is also the director of Compañía Internacional de Teatro Físico Mimox [Physical Theatre International Company] and honourable qualified member of Marcel Marceau’s L´Ecole Internacional de Mimodrame in Paris. He teaches at Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático de Madrid and at the University of Kent. His career spans over 30 years and he has created more than 65 productions in addition to taking part in a hundred of stage performances in many different countries.

The session on Sunday, the 17th is led by Cristina Collado. She will be dealing with expression by using the Viewpoints technique with her students aged over 16. The viewpoints are a working system developed by choreographer Marie Overlie, which were later on adapted to theatre by Anne Bogart. “This type of training is based on improvisation; we start from the limits and follow the guidelines that naturally generate a rich composition in the cast”, she explains, and then adds that “acting skills are not required and it’s an excellent system to develop listening on stage”.

Cristina Collado teaches Mime Style, Movement, Repertoire and Aquis at Escuela Internacional de Mimo y Teatro Gestual Nouveau Colombier. She trained in the Viewpoints technique for three years with Diana Bernedo at EIMTG Nouveau Colombier. Collado is a member of the Compañía Internacional de Teatro Físico Mimox Teatros. She has performed in some twenty shows and has also developed a gesture application for artistic creation and psychology.

The Drama Schools, part of Cabildo’s programme Tenerife Artes Escénicas under the Tenerife 2030 strategy, are carried out throughout the academic year in schools and cultural centres where children, youths and adults learn about theatre. The aim is to encourage quality artistic training and collaboration in the cultural development of their neighbourhood.  They are taught by Canarian professionals who are graduates in Drama from Escuela de Actores de Canarias (EAC) [Canarian Drama School]. Enrolment is at the beginning of the academic year.

Since 1961 the World Theatre Day has been celebrated worldwide on 27 March. It was created by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), and a figure of international scope is asked to write a manifesto every year.

This year’s it is by Carlos Celdrán, stage director, playwright, theatre educator, and winner of prestigious awards. He lives and works in Havana, Cuba. Celdrán writes about forgotten masters from the past and defends the idea of living the present of the stage experience, “with the sole expectation of reaching the transparency of an unrepeatable moment, meeting with the other in the darkness of a theatre, with only the truth of a gesture, or a revealing word to protect you”.

The Sala de Cámara of Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín welcomes at 12:30 pm on Saturday, the 16th a concert by students of Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (CPM). Four ensembles of the school are taking part in this morning session: CPM Percussion Ensemble, CPM Chamber Music Percussion Ensemble, CPM Guitar Ensemble, and Chamber Music Saxophone Quartet. Admission is free.

The concert starts with the Percussion Ensemble, ten musicians led by teacher Emilio Díaz. They will be playing Stick schtick, by Chris Brooks, and G. Giménez’s La boda de Luis Alonso. They are followed by Chamber Music Percussion Ensemble, made up by ten musicians and conducted by teacher Sixte Escrihuela. Their repertoire includes Xylophonia, by J. Green and arranged by Bob Becker, xylophone, and María Vera González as soloist; Hans-Günter Brodman’s Greetings to Hermann for quartet; lastly, an improvised sound experiment.

In the second part of the concert, the 25-strong Guitar Ensemble, led by teacher Inés Delgado, will play P. Telemann’s Concerto in D major, the tango Primavera porteña, by A. Piazzolla, and Abba’s Mamma mia. Finally, Chamber Music Saxophone Quartet, with teacher Beningno Cedrés, will perform Petit quatuor pour saxophones (first movement, allegro), by Jean Francaix, Toquades (first movement, tango), by Jerome Naulais, and Pedro Iturralde’s Dixie for Sax.

With this concert, the Conservatoire wishes to show the excellent level achieved and the work done by both students and teachers.

This activity is part of Auditorio de Tenerife’s Education and Social area with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa and Obra Social “la Caixa”.

As part of their educational project, the Conservatorio Profesional de Música de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, wishes to encourage students to take part in activities outside the school. That is why they give a concert like this one at Auditorio at least once a year.

Compañías internacionales impartirán clases de dramaturgia, teatro contemporáneo y una de ellas permitirá a los participantes actuar en la función

La Muestra Escénica Iberoamericana (MEI), que organiza el Cabildo del 22 de marzo al 12 de mayo en el Teatro El Sauzal a través del Instituto de Artes Escénicas de Tenerife, ofrece tres talleres gratuitos para  intérpretes profesionales de la Isla. La compañía mexicana Telón de Arena busca actores locales para participar en su función de MEI, la también mexicana Vaca 35 Teatro en Grupo impartirá un taller de teatro contemporáneo, mientras que la madrileña La Zaranda ofrecerá unas sesiones sobre actuación y dramaturgia actoral. Las inscripciones para los talleres, gratuitas, pueden realizarse de manera online en www.muestraiberoamericana.com en el apartado de Actividades profesionales.

Telón de Arena busca 16 actores locales, hombres y mujeres de todas las edades, para realizarán un taller del 29 de abril al 4 de mayo de 17:00 a 20:00 horas, en el Centro Cultural de El Sauzal. Los participantes actuarán en la representación de Los muertos, el 5 de mayo a las 20:00 horas en el Teatro El Sauzal. Para ello, deben inscribirse durante el mes de marzo presentando sus propuestas: cada participante deberá proponer dos personajes reconocidos de la historia colectiva de Tenerife, reales o ficticios (algún muerto ilustre, algún loco célebre, payaso conocido, suicida, héroe, político, artista, etc).

En forma de monólogos de entre 2 y 3 minutos se dará a conocer o recordar la vida o  la forma en que murió ese personaje. Estos textos se integrarán a la dramaturgia total del espectáculo. Una vez revisados y acordados los textos, entre finales de marzo y principios de abril los actores deberán memorizarlos y tenerlos listos el 29 de abril, día en que empieza el taller con el director de la compañía, Sebastien Lange.

Del lunes 29 de abril al sábado 4 de mayo se realizarán las sesiones de trabajo. Los actores de Telón de Arena llegarán a partir del 3 de abril y se irán incorporando a las sesiones para integrarse con los intérpretes tinerfeños. El día 5 se realizará un ensayo general antes de la función.

Vaca 35 Teatro en Grupo realizará un taller del 4 al 6 de mayo de 11:00 a 14:00 horas día en el Centro Cultural de El Sauzal. El director de la compañía, Damián Cervantes, será el encargado de impartir esta formación de teatro contemporáneo, en el que se abordarán temas como la creación colectiva, dirección y dramaturgia del actor.

El teatro que realiza Vaca 35 es el de la honestidad y en donde se replantea la posibilidad de un pensamiento, complejo y muy escénico. Se trata de un teatro que se basa en la intuición, que pone el cuestionamiento del riesgo entre personaje y persona. Entre otros, los objetivos de este taller son la gestión y creación de herramientas actorales y patrones de dirección, en base al diálogo y al contexto; y lograr tener una postura de lo teatral desde la independencia.

Vaca 35 Teatro en Grupo actuará el 1 de mayo en el Teatro El Sauzal con Josefina la gallina puso un huevo en la cocina y el 3 de mayo en un espacio alternativo del municipio norteño con Lo único que necesita una gran actriz es una gran obra y las ganas de triunfar. Ambas obras tendrán dos funciones, a las 18:00 y a las 20:00 horas, y tienen entrada libre hasta completar aforo.

Por último, la compañía madrileña La Zaranda busca una docena de actores locales para realizar un taller de actuación y dramaturgia actoral. Tendrá lugar del 6 al 10 de mayo de 18:00 a 20:30 horas en el Centro Cultural de El Sauzal.

Durante estas sesiones se abordará la esencia poética del hecho teatral para la consecución de una voz propia. Además, se partirá de lo evocativo y lo imaginario del actor para sumergirse en el sentir del personaje y se cruzarán las distintas atmósferas que puedan impregnan la obra como desarrollo dramático. Por último, se trabajará desde los subtextos para hacer orgánicos los textos y el conflicto como eje argumental. La Zaranda actuará los días 11 y 12 de mayo en el Teatro El Sauzal a las 20:00 horas con la recién estrenada El desguace de las musas.

La programación de esta primera edición de MEI ofrece 17 funciones de espectáculos de teatro, danza y circo, tres de ellos estrenos mundiales, llevados a cabo por 13 compañías de Portugal, Cuba, México, Canarias y España. En cada edición de MEI habrá una semana de programación gratuita procedente de un solo país, que se llamará Foco, y que este año está dedicada a México.

El primer espectáculo de la muestra tendrá lugar el 22 de marzo a las 20:00 horas en la sala principal del Teatro El Sauzal con el estreno en español de Hamlet, de los portugueses Companhia do Chapitô. Sin escenario y con los actores de traje y corbata, este Hamlet sigue las líneas maestras del texto original del escritor y dramaturgo inglés William Shakespeare, pero propone una reflexión  mordaz y llena de humor sobre varios aspectos de la realidad física y social.

Las entradas para todos los espectáculos -excepto los del Foco, que son gratuitos- están a la venta en la página web de MEI, www.muestraiberoamericana.com, y en la taquilla del Teatro El Sauzal 90 minutos antes del comienzo de cada función de MEI.

The Cabildo -through Ópera de Tenerife- and the University of La Laguna -through Institute on Women Studies, Pedro Cabrera cultural forum and the vice-chancellor office for Relationships with the Community- have organized the second Primavera Violeta [Purple Spring]. A project that aims at training for gender equality values through culture by means of a broad interdisciplinary programme of cultural activities dealing with different cultural, social and philosophical issues, that will last till May. Admission to all the activities is free.

The head of the University’s Institute on Women Studies and vice-dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Philosophy section of La Laguna University, Inmaculada Perdomo, will open on Thursday, the 14^th, the series of lectures to take place at different venues across the island until 2 May. Her paper is entitled Ciencia y género. Ellas toman la palabra [Science and Gender. Women take the floor], held at Antiguo Convento de San Francisco de Garachico, at 7:00 pm.

The next lecture is taking place at 6:30 pm on 4 April, at Salón de Grados of the Philosophy section at Faculty of Humanities of La Laguna University. Inmaculada Blasco Herranz, Contemporary History lecturer at ULL, will read the paper ¿Y antes de Clara Campoamor? Los feminismos en la España del primer tercio del siglo XX [Before Clara Campoamor. Feminisms in early 20^th century Spain].

At the same venue, at 6:30 pm on Thursday, the 11^th, Dr. Eva Palomo, visiting lecturer at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos de Madrid, will talk about El sufragismo y su entorno. Presencia y reivindicación feminista a comienzos del siglo XX [Suffrage and its environment. Feminist Presence and Demands in the early 20^th century].

The next lecture is by French Philosophy professor of Basque Country University, Lidia Vázquez. It will take place on 25 April at 6:30 pm at Museo Municipal de Bellas Artes de Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Her talk is called Las vanguardias tienen nombre de mujer [Avant-garde is a woman’s name].

The last lecture scheduled in the Primavera Violeta programme will be at 7:00 pm on 2 May at Centro Cultural de Guía de Isora. The speaker is Alejandro Abrante, Doctor of Philosophy and Ópera de Tenerife’s intendant. La imagen de lo invisible en el reflejo de las tres mujeres que inspiraron a Verdi La traviata: Alphonsine Duplessis, Marguerite Gautier y Violetta Valéry. [The image of the invisible reflects on the three women who inspired Verdi’s The Traviata: Alphonsine Duplessis, Marguerite Gautier and Violetta Valéry] His paper deals with the male-centred basis of 19^th century society, depicted by Verdi through a broad view on the love fortunes and misfortunes of a woman.  

The programme of this year’s Primavera Violeta closes with the performances of Giuseppe Verdi’s The Traviata, which is travelling to two municipalities on the island. It will be put on at Magma Arte & Congresos, in Adeje, on 11 and 12 May and in the grounds of former Hotel Taoro, in Puerto de la Cruz on 18 and 19 May. This new production, which is entirely made on the island, is part of Ópera Pocket, an Ópera de Tenerife’s initiative.

Ópera Pocket is a project by Ópera de Tenerife and follows the cultural lines of the Cabildo’s Tenerife 2030 strategy, which aims at bringing opera to new audiences by putting it on at different venues across the island.

Ópera de Tenerife’s intendant, Alejandro Abrante, is the production’s stage director and he faithfully portrays the atmosphere and characters Verdi used to describe a male-centred society. He also deepens on this issue through the psychological features of the three women Verdi took into account to compose this opera: Alphonsine Duplessis, Marguerite Gautier and Violetta Valèry.

Auditorio de Tenerife’s resident dance company, Lava, features in the programme of dFeria, la feria de teatro y danza de San Sebastián, in the Basque Country.  They are performing the first pieces of their repertoire, Bending the walls and Beyond, tomorrow, Tuesday, the 12^th at 8:00 pm at Teatro Victoria Eugenia. Cabildo de Tenerife’s Island Director for Culture, José Luis Rivero, and Lava’s artistic director, Daniel Abreu (Premio Nacional de Danza 2014, 3 MAX awards 2018), revealed the details of Lava’s first performance outside the Islands, at a press conference where Norka Chiapuso,  dFeria’s director, was also present.

José Luis Rivero explained that “at Auditorio de Tenerife  we’ve been working on contemporary dance for 15 years and have created steady structures within what we call  Tenerife Danza: Lava company, the Pedagogical Unit, and Danza en Comunidad”. The goals established by Lava, which premiered last December, include giving value to Canarian dance and insisting on working choreographic languages which have not been quite relevant as far”, he stated.

Daniel Abreu said that “it’s a pleasure to present these two pieces at dFeria”. Lava’s artistic director pointed out that “Bending the Walls, by Fernando Hernando Magadan, is about psychological resistance expressed through a very technical, clean language, displayed from a purity that is most often linked to the great European companies; and in Beyond, La Intrusa’s approach is as if they walked into a science fiction film, while they try to make a narrative full of different textures, which have to do with the difficulties of being”. “We’ll see two very different stories and their difference will surprise the audience”, Daniel Abreu revealed.

Bending the walls, by Fernando Hernando Magadan, current head of Nederlands Dans Theater 2, is a production of KorzoTheater and NDT. It is an exploration on the world of restrictions and limitations in the search for happiness, freedom and understanding: the physical and psychological limits within the self and the surrounding world. Bending the walls will be performed by Luis Agorreta, Javier Arozena, Emiliana Battista Marino, Dácil González, Amanda Rubio and Virginia Martín.

On the other hand, Beyond, by La Intrusa company, winner of Premio Nacional de Danza 2015, is the work of Virginia García and Damián Muñoz. The piece deals with the experience of searching through the emotional landscapes of memory, presenting a scenario full of uncertainties, which forces us to create or reflect on our own life. Luis Agorreta, Javier Arozena, Emiliana Battista Marino, Samuel Déniz, Amanda Rubio, Virginia Martín and Alicia Pirez are the dancers of Beyond.

Lava dance company is part of the Tenerife Danza programme, which is the umbrella project for all the dance schemes organised by Cabildo de Tenerife through the Tenerife 2030 strategy, under the project Instituto de Artes Escénicas de Tenerife [Tenerife Performing Arts Institute].

Lava is the artistic, creative side of Tenerife Danza, and it is an Auditorio de Tenerife resident company under the artistic direction of Daniel Abreu, who lends his creative view to new productions. The company will also welcome other national and international choreographers to perform a wide-ranging repertoire that includes pieces of different sizes and for different types of venues.

Dancers undergo high-performance physical training in classes of classical technique and contemporary languages with the different guest choreographers or masters, depending on the needs of their repertoire. 

In their next concert Orquesta Barroca de Tenerife, Auditorio de Tenerife’s resident group, will transport the audience to a  grand Italian aristocratic lounge dating back to more than 300 years ago. Dall’Italia is taking place at 7:30 pm on Thursday, the 14^th at Sala de Cámara. This programme, which is the first this year and third in the 2018/2019 season, marks a milestone in the young history of this Baroque ensemble, as it will be conducted by a woman: Lorena Padrón. She will be both leader of the orchestra and conductor.

The programme, outlined by the group’s artistic director, Conrado Álvarez, starts with Violin Concerto in E Flat Major, by Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), followed by Concerto grosso, in F Major Op. 1 Nº 7, by Pietro Antonio Locatelli (1695-1764).

After the interval comes Diverse bizzarie sopra la vecchia sarabanda ò pur ciaccona, by Nicola Matteis (1686-1768), followed by Concerto spagnolo a cinque, in C Minor, Op. 10 Nº 11, by Tomaso Albinoni (1659-1761). The evening closes with La musica notturna delle strade di Madrid, Op. 30 n. 6, G. 324, by Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805).

Accompanying Padrón, historicist musicians playing this repertoire include Sergio Suárez and Ignacio Ramal, Baroque violins I; Laura Díaz, Leo Rossi and Giovanni Déniz, Baroque violins II; Iván García and Melchor García, Baroque violas; Fernando Santiago and Diego Pérez, Baroque cellos; Silvia Jiménez, double bass; Carlos Oramas, theorbo; and Raquel García, harpsichord and organ.

Orquesta Barroca de Tenerife is taking part in Auditorio de Tenerife’s Learning and Community department, with the collaboration of Fundación Cepsa and Obra Social “la Caixa”, by offering a concert for pre-school children. The kids of CEIP Gesta 25 de Julio will have the chance to learn about instruments and sounds of the past on Wednesday, the 13^th at 11:00 am.

Tickets for this concert can be booked at  Auditorio de Tenerife box office from 10:00 am to 19:30 pm, Monday to Saturday, on www.auditoriodetenerife.com  here or calling 902 317 327. The usual discounts are available. 

The artists, selected out of 181 candidates, will perform L’elisir d’amore in October

Ópera de Tenerife has chosen the ten singers who will take part in the 7^th Opera (e)Studio. The artists were chosen out of 181 candidates who attended auditions in Bologna, Tbilisi, Madrid and Tenerife last February, under the supervision of the programme’s artistic director Giulio Zappa. This year Teatro Comunale di Bologna and Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre are partners in the project, which is funded by the European Commission programme, Creative Europe.

The organizers have chosen ten singers who will be landing on the Island in early September in order to get intensive comprehensive training that will lead to four performances of Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore at Auditorio de Tenerife.

The singers chosen and their role are as follows: Maria Rita Combattelli and Beatriz de Sousa (Adina); Klodjan Kaçani and César Arrieta (Nemorino); Alberto Bonifazio and Jacobo Ochoa (Belcore); Givi Gigineishvili and Matteo Andrea Mollica (Dulcamara); Sofía Esparza and Eleonora Boaretto (Giannetta). This year, there have been 181 candidates from 33 different countries and the singers chosen come from Albania, Colombia, Spain, Georgia, Italy, Portugal and Venezuela.

While on the Island, the singers will learn about all the different disciplines involved in opera; they will work on different musical and stage performance techniques, style, diction, body language, theatrical nature of the role, historical context of the composition, dramaturgy, or libretto studying, among other aspects. After being performed in Tenerife from 24 to 27 October, next year the production will travel to Tbilisi, where it will be put on four times (between 25 February and 1 March) and Bologna, with six performance between 5 and 11 April.

Ópera (e)Studio is a programme set up by Ópera de Tenerife in 2013 with the aim of boosting young talent through comprehensive artistic improvement. Its permanent base is at Auditorio de Tenerife and in the previous six years it staged Così fan tutte [2013], La Cenerentola [2014], Le nozze di Figaro [2015], Don Pasquale [2016], I Capuleti e i Montecchi [2017] and L’italiana in Algeri [2018].

L’elisir d’amore is Donizetti’s highly popular opera buffa and it includes the most famous aria for tenor ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ in addition to a lively plot where the love troubles of beautiful Adina and gullible Nemorino meet with the ploys of trickster Dulcamara and Sargeant Belcore’s jealousy. Pablo Maritano is the production’s stage designer and his scenography will transport us to the golden age of cinema. The musical director is Antonio Méndez, principal conductor of Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife.