Thu 05Jul18
The Canarias Jazz & Más Heineken Festival is starting this weekend with a double-bill open air concert at Plaza de los Alisios (back of Auditorio de Tenerife). On Friday, 6 July the programme includes the local band Atlantic Jazz Ensemble, pianist Christian Sands in a trio and trumpetist Keyon Harrold. Concerts start at 9:00 pm and admission is free. Santa Cruz de Tenerife welcomes open-air concerts again with a double bill, as on Saturday, 7th (same place, same time) good music lovers and the loyal followers of the festival can enjoy a second event with the performance of the Alexis Alonso Quartet (Canaries), British Myles Sanko and Californian Jungle Fire. Two eclectic evenings that show different ways of understanding jazz, from classic and pure sounds to the fusion of related rhythms like hip hop, soul or afrobeat.
There will be more than 50 concerts from 28 musical projects in different venues on five islands–La Palma, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife-. The number of gigs gives an idea of the scope of the event thanks to the contribution of the municipalities of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Adeje, Puerto de la Cruz, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Santa Brígida, Puerto del Rosario, Tías, Haría and Los Llanos de Aridane, and the sporsonship of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Cabildos of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, Casa África, Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín, Fundación Auditorio y Teatro de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Teatro Leal, Teatro Guiniguada and Binter. Organized by Colorado Producciones, it is once again sponsored by Heineken.
BIOS
Christian Sands, has been nominated five times to a Grammy award and is an emergent jazz power. His piano technique matches his conception of music, offering a new outlook on the language of jazz. Whether swing, bebop, progressive, fusion, Brazilian or Afro-Cuban, Sands deals with the past of music while providing stimulating unusual vehicles for the present and the future. He talks through a wide range of patterns, textures and structures while keeping a strong sense of good taste and swing. His career took a huge leap when Grammy-winner bass player, Christian McBride asked Sands, who was 20 at the time, to join him at the Village Vanguard and his big band. This led to his becoming a member of the bass player’s trio shortly after and touring the world with them.
Members:
Christian Sands: Piano.
Yasushi Nakamura: Bass.
Jonathan Barber: Drums.
Keyon Harrold was born and brought up in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb. His city has a prominent place in his album The Mugician as he goes through the difficult times its humblest residents have to experience. His music is based on elements from jazz, classical music, rock, blues and hip hop, to create something unique and unmistakably American. Guests like Pharoahe Monch, Gary Clark Jr., Big KRIT, Guy Torry, Georgia, Anne Muldrow and Robert Glasper add to the eclectic nature of the record which comes through as a unified cohesive whole, thanks to Harrold’s virtuoso skills as a trumpeter and composer and his optimistic view on life: “the best days are yet to come”. In Mugician, a combination of "musician" and "magician", Harrold goes beyond the traditional boundaries of the Jazz trumpet. In fact, the album does not even start with the trumpet. The record opens with the song Voicemail which has an inspiring message from Harrold’s mother, set in an exciting orchestral sound. Her words provide the foundation for an album that celebrates family (ten of Keyon’s siblings appear in the record) and the absolute need of optimism against darkness and doubt. Identity and equality issues are also part of the record, at times subtly present under the surface, at times more obviously.
Members:
Keyon Harrold: Trumpet and voices.
Shedrick Mitchell: Piano
Nir Felder: Guitar.
Burniss Travis: Bass.
Charles Haynes: Drums.
Featuring Andrea Pizziconi: Voice.
The Atlantic Jazz Ensemble is a creation of Atlantic Jazz Lab (Atlantic Jazz & New Music Laboratory), whose aim is to provide regular training to help spread, keep and encourage jazz creation in, for and from the Canary Islands. It is all done under the artistic supervision of Natanael Ramos, founder of the lab and one of the most prominent Canarian musicians in the European jazz scene. Since 2016 the group has attracted island audiences with different itinerant projects like the album Round Midnight by Miles Davis and since late 2017, with the project they are presenting now: The Music Of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers.
Members:
Natanael Ramos: Trumpet and artistic direction.
Claudio Marrero: Tenor sax.
Francis Hernández: Piano.
Jose Carlos Machado: Double bass.
Nasim López-Palacios: Drums.
England-resident Soul singer and composer, Myles Sanko, made his debut with his EP Born in Black & White, which was acclaimed by both audience and critics in 2013. The album includes seven original funk and soul tracks inspired by great figures of soul like Bill Withers, Otis Redding, Al Green and James Brown, thus proudly acknowledging them as his main music influences. The record is a perfect combination of deep grooves and jazz. Labelled “the Lovechild of Soul Music”, Myles started his career singing and rapping with djs at clubs. He has been a member of popular groups like Bijoumiyo and Speedometer. Sanko is presenting his third album where he adds a new chapter to his particular intense journey. Just Being Me “is about love, hope and politics and has a piece of me in every part”, he says.
Members:
Myles Sanko: Voice.
Rick Hudson: Drums.
Tom O'grady: Keyboard.
Phil Stevenson: Guitar.
Jon Mapp: Bass.
Alex Hitchcock: Sax.
James Copus: Trumpet.
The sound of Jungle Fire is a deep exploration into Afro-Latin Funk with a genuine and explosive approach. This LA TropiFunk group draws on music legends like Irakere, Ray Barreto, James Brown, Fela Kuti and Manu Dibango (among many others) while creating a mixture of Afro-Caribbean and African-West sound that includes breaks of classical funk. Since its beginnings in 2011, Jungle Fire quickly stood out in the LA funk scene in underground clubs and parties across the city. The different musical and cultural origin of the Jungle Fire members are a direct reflection of the musical and cultural scene in Los Angeles. The international and multicultural mixture of sounds is a basic feature of the band’s sound. Both individually and collectively, the members of Jungle Fire have recorded, performed or toured with such different artists as Stevie Wonder, Ozomatli, De La Soul, Celia Cruz, LCD Soundsystem, U2, Greyboy Allstars, Kelis, and many more.
Members:
Alberto López: Percussion.
Steve Haney: Percussion.
Michael Duffy: Percussion.
Sam Halterman: Drums.
Patrick Bailey: Bass.
Aquiles Magaña: Electric guitar.
Sean Billings: Trumpet.
Sam Robles: Baritone Sax.
One of the peculiarities of Alexis Alonso Quartet is their originality in the jazz scene as a cello is an important feature of their sound. The sensitivity of the great cello player Ciro Hernández, the versatility and talent of double bass player Agustín Buenafuente along with one of the best drum players in current jazz, Roberto Amor, blend in to create this wonderful cocktail that has sailed across Alexis Alonso’s compositions and his magic piano, giving as a result truly powerful pieces.
Members:
Alexis Alonso: Piano.
Ciro Hernández: Cello.
Agustín P. Buenafuente: Double bass.
Roberto Amor: Drums.
Useful links:
https://twitter.com/CanariasJazz
Thu 05Jul18
La Sala de Cámara del Auditorio de Tenerife recibe este viernes 6 de julio a las 21:00 horas la muestra del taller de Hula. Esta actividad cumple su séptima edición con medio centenar de alumnos, mujeres y niños, que llevan dos semanas aprendiendo los entresijos de la danza tradicional de Hawái. La entrada a la exhibición de lo aprendido es libre hasta completar aforo.
La tinerfeña Yurena Namahana es la profesora encargada de acercar a los alumnos la cultura hawaiana por medio del baile y la música. Durante las clases, los participantes, divididos en niños y adultos, han tenido la ocasión de aprender canciones, pasos y conocer la vestimenta tradicional de esta isla del Pacífico. Durante las sesiones, que comenzaron el pasado 25 de junio, se han aprendido el Oli Aloha, el cántico de Aloha que lleva el verdadero sentimiento del espíritu de Aloha; los pasos básicos del Hula y sus nombres en hawaiano, acompañados por el instrumento tradicional llamado Ipu Heke; un baile completo de Hula Kahiko, el Hula ancestral, o de Hula Auwana, el Hula contemporáneo.
La inscripción a cualquiera de las modalidades, tres para adultos y una para niños, incluía la letra y traducción del Oli Aloha, los nombres de los pasos del Hula con una explicación de ejecución, la letra del baile en hawaiano con su traducción en folios preparados para añadir los pasos y movimientos, la canción del Hula que han aprendido, el obsequio de un Lei, collar de Hawái, y la oportunidad de adquirir Pā‘ū (falda del Hula), pareos y camisas de Hawái.
Yurena Namahana nació en Tenerife pero hace doce años se trasladó a O‘ahu, Hawái, para conectarse con sus raíces del Pacífico. Realizó los estudios formales del Hula ancestral, convirtiéndose en el 2010 en la primera Kumu Hula, profesora de Hula, de Canarias y de España. Ha bailado e impartido varios talleres de Hula en Hawái, Nueva Zelanda, Japón, Málaga y Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Ha encabezado ceremonias para varios dignatarios incluyendo jueces distinguidos, el obispo presidente de la iglesia episcopal de EEUU y el gobernador de Hawái. Namahana también ha tomado parte en varios documentales de Hula y durante seis años fue la Kumu Hula de un afamado colegio privado en Honolulu fundado por la Reina Emma de Hawaii, enseñando a más de 350 alumnos.
Este taller de Hula forma parte del Área Educativa y Social del Auditorio de Tenerife, que cuenta como colaboradores con la Fundación Cepsa y la Obra Social “la Caixa”.
Thu 05Jul18
Swiss soprano Larissa Alice Wissel got the first prize at the 5th Ópera de Tenerife International Singing Competition, which this year welcomed 38 candidates from 18 different countries. The second prize went to Romanian soprano Alexandra Grigoras and the Korean baritone Insik Choi won third prize. He also got the Extraordinary Audience Award, granted by the attendees at the final gala held on 4 July at Sala de Cámara in Auditorio de Tenerife.
A new feature this year is the “María Orán Award” for best zarzuela aria performance, with which Ópera de Tenerife pays tribute to the memory of the Tenerife singer and encourages the internationalization of opera in Spanish. The award was granted to Spanish soprano Laura del Río who has now secured a role in one of the zarzuela season titles of Ópera de Tenerife.
In addition to the usual synergy of the talent displayed by artists and the different artistic directors present in the event, several special prizes were agreed on as well as roles in productions of their respective seasons. Ópera de Tenerife is hiring soprano Alexandra Grigoras in the role of Liù (Turandot, Puccini), Carmen Mateo as Violetta (La traviata, Verdi) and Mexican bass Alejandro López. Spanish soprano Elvira Padrino gets a zarzuela role. Ópera de Oviedo, on their part, reached an agreement with Alejandro López and Larissa Alice Wissel, who is also wanted at the Teatro Municipale di Piacenza. They are also taking part in a masterclass with maestro Giulio Zappa and sopranos Marta Mari (Italy), Cecilia Rodríguez (Spain) and Olena Sloia (Romania).
The winner this year started to study violin and piano when she was six years old in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, obtaining aged 13 a Julius Stern Institut grant for young talents, being accepted in Universität der Künste Berlin. She furthered her studies at Mozarteum in Salzburg and through masterclasses under the direction of Bernadette Manca di Nissa and Fernando Cordeiro. In 2014 she won three international competitions: As.li.co. in the debut section; the Rheinsberg in Berlin; and the 4th Santa Chiara competition in Naples, where she was awarded first prize and the Audience Prize. In 2016 she was a finalist in the 35th Belvedere Competition in Cape Town.
The competition is closing on Thursday, 5 with the traditional award-winners concert to take place at Sala de Cámara in Auditorio de Tenerife at 7:30 pm. The winners will have the chance to show their different opera skills with maestro Dario Tondelli as accompanist.
The competition has had the collaboration of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) which, through the Programme for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE), in the Visitors category, provides a prestigious international jury whose members have a solid artistic and technical reputation. Although it is chaired by As.li.co vice-president Giovanna Lomazzi, on this occasion it will be the artistic director of the Fondazione Teatri di Piacenza, Cristina Ferrari will be taking her place.
Other members of the jury include casting manager and musical director assistant of Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Alessandro di Gloria; the general manager of Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Fulvio Macciardi; the stage manager and artistic production manager of Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Pablo Maritano; the artistic programming manager of Teatro Regio di Parma, Cristiano Sandri; the artistic manager of the Young Artists Ópera del Teatro Bolshoi, Dmitry Vdovin; the member of the Society for the promotion of Chinese Traditional Culture, Qing Xu; the general and artistic director of Ópera de Oviedo, Javier Menéndez; intendant of Theater und Philharmonie Essen, Hein Mulders; and the artistic director of Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona, Christina Scheppelmann.
Wed 04Jul18
Ópera de Tenerife has revealed the 13 finalists of their 5th International Singing Competition, who will be competing today, 4 July, at 6:00 pm at Auditorio de Tenerife. Each singer will perform an opera aria chosen by the jury or a zarzuela aria if they are competing for the María Orán Award. Maestro Dario Tondelli is their accompanying pianist.
The following are competing in the opera category: Swiss soprano Larissa Alice Wissel with “A vos jeux... Pȃle et blonde” (Hamlet, Thomas); Romanian soprano Olena Sloia with “Glitter and be gay” (Candide, Bernstein); Italian soprano Marta Mari with “L’altra notte in fondo al mare” (Mefistofele, Boito); Mexican bass Alejandro López with “Ella giammai m’amò” (Don Carlo, Verdi); Romanian soprano Alexandra Grigoraş with “Depuis le jour” (Louise, Charpentier); Korean baritone Insik Choi with “O Carlo, ascolta... Io morrò ma lieto in core” (Don Carlo, Verdi). And Spanish sopranos Cecilia Rodríguez with “Tornami a vagheggiar” (Alcina, Händel); Carmen Mateo with “Eccomi in lieta vesta... Oh, quante volte” (I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Bellini); Laura del Río with “È strano... Ah, forse è lui... Sempre libera” (The traviata, Verdi).
Also, Romanian soprano Olena Sloia with “Iris de amor” (Marina, Arrieta); and Spanish sopranos Cecilia Rodríguez, Elvira Padrino, and Laura del Río who are singing “Salida de Cecilia” (Cecilia Valdés, Roig); “De España vengo” (El niño judío, Luna); and “Canción del ruiseñor” (Doña Francisquita, Vives), respectively, are competing for the María Orán Award.
The winners will get one of the three prizes of 5,000, 3,000 and 1,000 Euros respectively in addition to the María Orán Award, which consists of performing a role in one of the Ópera de Tenerife zarzuela season. There is an honorary Extraordinary Audience Award, voted by the audience attending the final. Also, but not in competition, the different artistic managers present at the event will offer roles in their season productions according to the singers’ suitability to their requirements.
As usual, the award-winners will give a concert at Sala de Cámara tomorrow, 5 July at 7:30 pm. Tickets for this concert are available through the normal sale channels of Auditorio de Tenerife: at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday, on www.auditoriodetenerife.com or calling 902 317 327.
The competition has the collaboration of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) which, through the Programme for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE), in the Visitors category, provides a prestigious international jury whose members have a solid artistic and technical reputation. Although it is chaired by As.li.co vice-president Giovanna Lomazzi, on this occasion, Cristina Ferrari, artistic director of the Fondazione Teatri di Piacenza, will be taking her place.
Other members of the jury include casting manager and musical director assistant of Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Alessandro di Gloria; the general manager of Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Fulvio Macciardi; the stage manager and artistic production manager of Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Pablo Maritano; the artistic programming manager of Teatro Regio di Parma, Cristiano Sandri; the artistic manager of the Young Artists Ópera del Teatro Bolshoi, Dmitry Vdovin; the member of the Society for the promotion of Chinese Traditional Culture, Qing Xu; the general and artistic director of Ópera de Oviedo, Javier Menéndez; intendant of Theater und Philharmonie Essen, Hein Mulders; and the artistic director of Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona, Christina Scheppelmann.
Mon 02Jul18
Focusing on the performing arts, the Festival de Tenerife is back at the island’s cultural scene. They are offering 26 national shows in addition to different Canarian events. Cabildo de Tenerife president, Carlos Alonso, the Culture and Education Director, José Luis Rivero, and the mayors of the cities of Santa Cruz and La Laguna, José Manuel Bermúdez and José Alberto Díaz, respectively, presented the details of the festival at a press conference which included the participation of dancer Daniel Morales and actors Marta Viera and María de Vigo. With the motto Al caer las hojas, levantamos el telón [As leaves fall we raise the curtain], the festival has scheduled 41 circus, theatre, dance and opera shows plus several workshops and masterclasses from 4 October to 15 December.
Shows will be held at theatres and in the streets, including premieres in the Canary Islands of national projects, in-house productions, and a series of great literary classics. The festival venues include Auditorio de Tenerife, Teatro Guimerá, Teatro Leal and Paraninfo at Universidad de La Laguna. This year the focus is also on the streets so there will be open-air events in both cities.
Carlos Alonso explained the seasonal character of the Festival, “which is stronger this year and includes the streets of Santa Cruz and La Laguna in the programme”. The president talked about the aim of the project to become a leading national event. “It is not just a cultural proposal but it also includes elements of economic activity such as the development of professions or hiring staff, which grow within the Tenerife 2030 strategy so that the people who live here have a better Island”.
José Manuel Bermúdez explained that “the Festival de Tenerife involves plenty of activity and is an added value”. The mayor of Santa Cruz talked about the two venues in the city: “we provide the oldest theatre in the Canary Islands, Teatro Guimerá, and Auditorio, which has been a leading venue throughout its ten years of existence”.
José Alberto Díaz recalled the cultural activity in La Laguna where its “streets, museums and artistic spaces are proof of citizens’ commitment to culture”. “This festival will have great economic impact on the city thanks to the activity it will generate”, La Laguna mayor stated.
On his part, José Luis Rivero revealed that the programme “will include a wide range of performing arts forms: theatre, circus, dance, opera and the streets”. The island director trusts that in the autumn “we’ll have perfect weather and the public will respond to our first-rate programme”.
Rivero highlighted that “80% of the programme includes events to be seen for the first time in the Canary Islands, including the premiere of five shows, while relying on the creativity, productivity and talent available on the islands to generate business too, so that more Canarian productions can take on international shows”.
Programme
The 2nd Festival de Tenerife opens in La Laguna on 4 October with a street show, Luz de farol, an in-house Festival production made up of dance pieces by local dancers around the city’s streetlamps. Luz de farol will then go on to Santa Cruz on 9 November with different pieces.
A highlight in the programme is the first performance in the Canaries of The Umbilical Brothers, one of the best current clown groups, who blend vocal and physical abilities with theatre, clown and comedy. They are sure to amaze everyone with their improvisations at Teatro Guimerá on 19 October with Best of the worst of the best of The Umbilical Brothers.
As for theatre, one of the strong points in the programme is He nacido para verte sonreír, by Teatro de La Abadía on 2 and 3 November. This present-day melodrama is directed by Pablo Messiez and was written by Santiago Loza, a key figure in today’s playwriting in Latin America. The main characters are mother and son, performed by Isabel Ordaz and Fernando Delgado-Hierro.
With Lucia di Lammermoor of the Ópera de Tenerife 2018/2019 season, Tenerife tenor Celso Albelo and Russian soprano Irina Lungo will be on stage at Auditorio de Tenerife to play the part of Sir Edgardo and Lucia in this drama by Donizetti. The premiere of this coproduction of Ópera de Tenerife with Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and Fundación Ópera de Oviedo will take place on 20 November.
On 2 December the recently established company Lava is giving their first performance. This Auditorio de Tenerife resident group is made up of six dancers under the artistic direction of Daniel Abreu, the Tenerife-born Premio Nacional de Danza [National Dance Award] who won three prizes at the last Max Awards.
The festival closes at Teatro Guimerá on 7 and 8 December with Moby Dick, starring Josep María Pou. The Catalan actor will play Captain Ahab, one of the greatest literary characters who represents unreasonable human obsession, capable of overriding free will and removing good-nature from the soul.
Three of the companies coming to Tenerife for the Festival will bring to the island more than their productions. The Teatro Clásico de Sevilla company is giving an additional performance for school children of their piece Luces de bohemia. This play by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, which led to the emergence of esperpento as a theatre genre, is about Max Estrella, the blind visionary poet whose misfortune goes with him till his last breath.
TeatroLab Madrid is also coming to Festival de Tenerife. The project is an open space for theatrical creation including the participation of all its members. Through specific training it puts into practice the View-point techniques, to answer intuitively to what is happening on the stage; and Suzuki, a strict theatrical discipline which draws on ballet, Japanese and Greek traditional theatre, martial arts and flamenco. There will be a masterclass for professionals about these techniques during the Festival. They are also staging an Audience Creation Lab for the general public. The final event is the show Cuatro corazones con freno y marcha atrás at Teatro Leal on 16 November.
Lastly, a section of the Festival will seek the collaboration of women who are over 70 years old for the dance workshop the Mariantònia Oliver company is bringing. It will end with the staging of Las muchas at Sala Castillo in Auditorio de Tenerife on 23 November.
The Cabildo, with the Tenerife 2030 strategy as a guideline, along with the town councils of Santa Cruz and La Laguna are committed to the festival with the aim to encourage the cultural programme in both cities as well as the exhibition of Canarian productions, where the talent of local creators will be displayed. The event offers an opportunity to commercialize and distribute their work.
Sat 30Jun18
The 5th Ópera de Tenerife International Singing Competition is starting tomorrow [Sunday 1] at 4:00 pm at Auditorio de Tenerife and will continue until Wednesday, 4 July. This year 38 candidates from 18 different countries are taking part in this competition whose aim is to help entrants achieve a higher level and a more successful career.
The largest group comes from Spain -eleven singers- including Canarian Sonia Hernández; there are five entrants from Italy, three from South Korea, two are coming from Germany, Japan, Mexico and Romania and one from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the United States, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Ukraine.
The candidates are performing five arias of their choice and will be evaluated under different tessituras in the qualifying phase on 1 and 2 July. A day later, the semifinal takes place at 5:00 pm to then go on to the final on 4 July at 6:00 pm when the finalists will perform an opera aria chosen by the jury, or a zarzuela aria if they are competing for the new María Orán Award for best zarzuela aria performance. This new award is a tribute to the memory of the Tenerife singer and it also aims to encourage the internationalization of opera in Spanish. To compete for this new award, candidates must perform one of the roles included in the Ópera de Tenerife zarzuela season, according to the specific needs of each title and vocal and stage suitability.
The winners will be awarded prizes of 5,000, 3,000 and 1,000 Euros respectively and the audience attending the final will vote to grant the honorary Audience Extraordinary Award. Also, but not in competition, the different artistic managers attending the event will offer roles for their season productions according to the singers’ suitability to their requirements.
As usual, the award-winners will give a concert on Thursday, 5 July at 7:30 pm at Sala de Cámara, accompanied by maestro Dario Tondelli. Tickets for this concert are available through the normal sale channels of Auditorio de Tenerife: at the box office from 10:00 am to 7:30 pm, Monday to Saturday, on www.auditoriodetenerife.com or calling 902 317 327.
The competition has the collaboration of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) which, through the Programme for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE), in the Visitors category, provides a prestigious international jury whose members have a solid artistic and technical reputation. Although it is chaired by As.li.co vice-president Giovanna Lomazzi, on this occasion it will be the artistic director of the Fondazione Teatri di Piacenza, Cristina Ferrari will be taking her place. Other members of the jury include casting manager and musical director assistant of Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Alessandro di Gloria; the general manager of Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Fulvio Macciardi; the stage manager and artistic production manager of Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Pablo Maritano; the artistic programming manager of Teatro Regio di Parma, Cristiano Sandri; the artistic manager of the Young Artists Ópera del Teatro Bolshoi, Dmitry Vdovin; the member of the Society for the promotion of Chinese Traditional Culture, Qing Xu; the general and artistic director of Ópera de Oviedo, Javier Menéndez; intendant of Theater und Philharmonie Essen, Hein Mulders; and the artistic director of Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona, Christina Scheppelmann.
Fri 29Jun18
Ópera de Tenerife presenta la zarzuela Luisa Fernanda, de Federico Moreno Torroba, que se representará mañana [sábado 30] a las 19:30 horas en la Sala Sinfónica del Auditorio de Tenerife. El último título de la temporada lírica insular ha vendido todas las localidades y estará dirigido por el director musical del Teatro La Zarzuela de Madrid, Óliver Díaz.
El director asturiano debuta en Ópera de Tenerife asumiendo la conducción de la Sinfónica de Tenerife que aportará la música a este título del género lírico español y que, además, contará con las voces de Virginia Tola (soprano), Carmen Mateo (soprano), Silvia Zorita (mezzosoprano), María José Torres (soprano), Pablo Gálvez (barítono), David Astorga (tenor), Alberto Camón (bajo), Pablo Martínez (tenor) y Badel Albelo (tenor). También en esta ocasión estará presente el Coro de Ópera de Tenerife, dirigido por Carmen Cruz.
Óliver Díaz que en 2002 fundó la Orquesta Sinfónica Ciudad de Gijón y en 2013 la Barbieri Symphony Orchestra, ha dirigido formaciones nacionales como la Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, la Orquesta Sinfónica del Gran Teatro del Liceu, la Orquesta de la Comunidad Valenciana, o la Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, entre otras. A las que se suman las colaboraciones con la New Amsterdam Symphony, Cluj Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica Rusa, Sibiu Philharmonic Orchestra o la Orquesta Sinfónica Ciudad de Lima.
El director de escena, Alfonso Romero Mora, plantea una zarzuela con una estética fiel al tiempo, a los personajes y a los lugares originales del libreto pero donde el espectador pueda establecer similitudes o paralelismos con la sociedad española actual. Romero cuenta en su haber con la dirección de títulos líricos en los principales escenarios nacionales y europeos, lo que le ha valido para ser reconocido con el tercer premio en el European Competition of Stage Directing EOP Camerata Nuova por su proyecto La cenicienta (Rossini) y ser finalista en el International Competition of Opera Directing de Praga con Alcina (Händel).
La escenografía del canario Carlos Santos está concebida desde un punto de vista abstracto y minimalista que irá evolucionando en el espacio, desde el Madrid urbano a la dehesa extremeña. Dentro del lenguaje conceptual, contiene una serie de elementos geométricos que sugieren no sólo el triángulo amoroso, sino el ambiente anguloso derivado del caos político de la época y de los propios sentimientos de los personajes. Uno de los elementos más llamativos que podrá verse sobre el escenario son una serie de puertas móviles coronadas por un espacio acotado por una barandilla donde se situará el coro. El suelo circular ligeramente inclinado aporta la profundidad necesaria para enriquecer una perspectiva eminentemente geométrica.
El vestuario lleva la firma del diseñador tinerfeño Leo Martínez y manteniendo la fidelidad histórica que requiere la producción, se ha buscado una revisión a la tradición y a al estilo propio español de la época introduciendo nuevos detalles. Las prendas ha sido confeccionadas por el equipo de sastrería de Auditorio de Tenerife.
Luisa Fernanda se estrena en 1932 y supone el primer éxito de su compositor Federico Moreno Torroba, llegando a ser representada a lo largo de este tiempo en más de 10.000 ocasiones. La historia original está ambientada en el Madrid decimonónico que contempló los últimos días del reinado de Isabel II y los acontecimientos que se sucedieron tras la Revolución de La Gloriosa que desembocarían en la Primera República Española.
En ese marco histórico se forja el triángulo amoroso entre la protagonista que da nombre a la zarzuela; un apuesto y seductor militar de fulgurante carrera, Javier Moreno y un rico labrador extremeño que pretende a la joven. La sucesión de acontecimientos acerca de la elección entre un pretendiente u otro, y el inevitable enfrentamiento entre ambos, apela al drama burgués de la nueva sociedad que nació tras la revolución industrial y al clásico conflicto entre la razón y los sentimientos.
Wed 27Jun18
The Escuela Coral de Tenerife is celebrating the end of the year on Saturday, 30 June with the concert ¿Por qué cantamos? [Why do we sing?] to be held at Sala de Cámara in Auditorio de Tenerife at 8:30 pm. Apart from the choirs made up of students from the school and members of Auditorio de Tenerife Young Choir, the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid Choir will be the guest performer. They are conducted by Nuria Hernández Herranz, who is also offering a solo concert on Sunday 1 June at 12:30 pm.
The ninety-six members of the Escuela Coral de Tenerife are arranged by age. So we will see the Coro Pre-Infantil (aged 6 to 8), the Coro Infantil (aged 9 to 12), the Coro Pre-Juvenil (aged 13 to 15), and the Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife (aged 16 to 26). The repertoire includes different music styles and will show the different techniques learnt in the first year thanks to the School teaching team: director Roxana Schmunk, Agustín Francisco Curbelo -as assistant director- and teachers Carlos Castañeda, Mirela Fregolent, José Herrero, and Beatriz Ramos.
They are performing songs like “Jugando al escondite”, “Only in sleep”, “My favourite things”, “Whistle when you work”, “Pure imagination”, “Shape of you”, “Cuando te beso”, “And so it goes”, “Nocturnos de la Ventana”, “Azul”, “The seal lullaby”, “Singing in the rain”, “Lullaby”, “Someone like you” and “Make a joyful noise”. Esther Ropón will be the accompanying pianist at the concert.
This concert closes nine months of classes during which participants have learnt about choir music through a programme that includes training in music language, voice technique, body movement, conducting and repertoire in different music styles like popular, traditional, jazz, gospel, baroque, opera, liturgic, and contemporary. The school, which is starting their second year in September, is a Cabildo de Tenerife initiative and is part of the Plan Insular para las Artes Escénicas y la Música [Island Plan for the Performing Arts and Music], included in the Tenerife 2030 strategy.
Tue 26Jun18
The Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife was awarded three prizes at the 7th Coros Verão in Lisbon. They got the first prize in the under-25 category and came second in the Jazz, Gospel and Pop section. In addition, the jury awarded a special prize to Cristian Bartolomé for best soloist for his performance of “Someone like you”.
The young singers, their conductor Roxana Schmunk, and their repertoire master Agustín Francisco Curbelo, are coming back to the island today, Tuesday, 26 after spending the weekend in Lisbon in their second year as choir. The singers took part in a workshop by choir conductor Pedro Texeira and offered some concerts at different venues and streets in the city, apart from the competition. One of the most special events took place at Mosterio dos Jerónimos.
These prizes are an addition to Auditorio de Tenerife Young Choir winning record, as they had already received two awards at the same festival last year (in the under-25 section and a jury special prize for their expressive singing); plus the first prize at the Concurso de Canto Coral de Canarias, held in Gran Canaria in November 2017.
With no time to take in their stay in Lisbon, the group is performing tomorrow, [Wednesday, 27] at Real Casino de Santa Cruz de Tenerife at 7:30 pm. It is a free concert offered by this club as part of their cultural programme to support new young Canarian talents. The choir will be performing songs like “What a wonderful world”, “Hallelujah”, “Imagine”, and Juan Luis Guerra’s “Cuando te beso”.
In addition, the end of the year concert of the Escuela Coral de Tenerife [Tenerife Choir School] is taking place on Saturday, 30 at 8:30 pm at Sala de Cámara in Auditorio de Tenerife. The Young Choir is also taking part along with pilot choirs in their first year of training. The Coro de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid is the guest choir.
Tue 26Jun18
Ópera de Tenerife has extended the closing date to enter the 5th Ópera de Tenerife International Singing Competition to be held at Auditorio de Tenerife from 1 to 4 July, closing with the award-winners concert on 5 July. The new deadline for entries is Friday, 29 June at 12 noon. Singers who were born on or after 1 January 1978 can take part in the competition whose aim is to help them achieve a higher level and a more successful career. Click here to learn about the rules.
This year we are introducing a new prize: the “María Orán Award” for best zarzuela aria performance, a tribute Ópera de Tenerife pays to the memory of the Tenerife soprano. The winner will be given the opportunity to play a role in one of the zarzuela season titles, in accordance with the specific needs of each title and vocal and stage suitability.
The winners will be awarded prizes of 5,000, 3,000 and 1,000 Euros respectively; there will also be an honorary Audience Extraordinary Award. The audience can thus vote for any of the singers taking part in the final, regardless of their having received any other award.
Participants must prepare five arias of their choice to perform and if they also enter the Maria Orán Award competition, they have to prepare two arias from the zarzuela repertoire. Arias will be sung from memory and the selected programme cannot be changed once the Competition Organizing Committee accepts it. The call is open to the following types of voice: soprano, mezzosoprano, contralto, counter-tenor, tenor, baritone or bass.
The rules of the competition establish a qualifying phase on 1 and 2 July. The semi-final takes place on 3 July and on 4 July, the finalists will sing an opera aria chosen by the jury in addition to a zarzuela aria, if they are also competing for the María Orán Award. The winners will offer a concert on Thursday, 5 July where they will be accompanied by maestro Dario Tondelli.
All the members of the jury have a solid artistic and technical reputation. This year we can count on the collaboration of nine international professionals thanks to Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) [Spanish Cultural Action] and their aid through the Programme for the Internationalization of Spanish Culture (PICE), in the Visitors category. The jury will be chaired by As.li.co, vice-president Giovanna Lomazzi. The casting manager and musical director assistant of Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Alessandro Di Gloria; the artistic director of the Fondazione Teatri di Piacenza, Cristina Ferrari; the general manager of Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Fulvio Macciardi; the stage manager and artistic production manager of Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Pablo Maritano; the artistic programming manager of Teatro Regio di Parma, Cristiano Sandri; the artistic manager of the Young Artists Opera Programme at the Bolshoi Theatre, Dmitry Vdovin; the member of the Society for the promotion of Chinese Traditional Culture, Qing Xu; and Italian pianist, Darío Tondelli.
The following will also be members of the jury: Martin Boschet, executive manager of Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires; Javier Menéndez, general and artistic director of Ópera de Oviedo; Hein Mulders, intendant of Theater und Philharmonie Essen; and the artistic director of Barcelona Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona, Christina Scheppelmann.
BASES EN ESPAÑOL | CONDITIONS ENGLISH | REGOLAMENTO IN ITALIANO
Thu 21Jun18
El Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife viaja hoy jueves 21 de junio rumbo a Portugal para participar en el VII Festival Coros de Verano de Lisboa. La agrupación, compuesta por 38 coralistas bajo la dirección de Roxana Schmunk, competirá en dos categorías de este certamen, en el que el año pasado lograron dos premios.
Mañana viernes [día 22] acudirán a la gala de inauguración, donde asistirán al concierto de la Orquestra Filarmonia Das Beiras, que tocará junto a un gran coro laSinfonía nº 9 de Beethoven. El director del festival, Paulo Vassalo Lourenço, dirigirá esta primera actuación del evento portugués.
El sábado [día 23] los jóvenes coralistas tinerfeños darán dos conciertos en el Grande Auditório del Centro Cultural de Belém. El primero tendrá lugar a las 14:30 horas, compitiendo en la categoría de menores de 25 años, en la que en junio de 2017 obtuvieron el Premio Gold. A las 17:45 horas el Coro Juvenil cantará en la categoría de Jazz, Gospel y Pop.
La tarde dominical estará marcada por una apretada agenda de tres conciertos, dos de ellos al aire libre. Así, a las 17:00 horas cantarán en el Caminho Pedonal del Centro Cultural Belém y las 18:30 horas actuarán en el Pavilhão das Galeotas en el Museu da Marinha. Para cerrar el día, el Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife dará un concierto especial en el Monasterio de Los Jerónimos a partir de las 22:00 horas.
El Coro participará el lunes [día 25] en un taller con el director de coros Pedro Texeira. Por la tarde tendrá lugar en el Grande Auditório del Centro Cultural de Belém la gala de clausura y entrega de premios del Festival de Verano, donde el Coro Juvenil cantará una canción durante el cierre y también mostrará el trabajo realizado en el taller con Texeira cantando Esta tierra, de Javier Busto. Además del Premio Gold en la categoría de menores de 25 años, el Coro Juvenil de Auditorio de Tenerife logró el año pasado el Premio Especial del Jurado por su expresividad. “Nadie esperaba nada del coro porque era nuestro primer año, luego resultó que fuimos la revelación del festival y eso nos ha abierto muchas puertas”, señala Roxana Schmunk.
El Coro Juvenil es un proyecto del Área Educativa y Social de Auditorio de Tenerife, que se adscribe a la estrategia Tenerife 2030 del Cabildo insular. Esta formación, que nació en mayo de 2016, ya cuenta con estos dos reconocimientos portugueses y además con el primer premio en el Concurso de Canto Coral de Canarias – II Semana de la Música Coral de Gran Canaria, celebrada en noviembre de 2017.
Mon 18Jun18
El XXVII Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Heineken arranca en la Plaza Alisios del Auditorio de Tenerife y en la Plaza de España de Los Llanos de Aridane de La Palma un programa de 49 conciertos que les llevará también por Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Graciosa y Gran Canaria. Esta edición comenzará el 6 de julio y se prolongará hasta el día 22. Los detalles del festival fueron dados a conocer hoy lunes 18 de junio por el director insular de Cultura y Educación del Cabildo de Tenerife, José Luis Rivero; el director del festival, Miguel Ramírez; el concejal de Promoción Económica de Santa Cruz, Alfonso Cabello; el gerente de Organismo Autónomo de Actividades Musicales de La Laguna, Tomás López-Perea; y el representante de Ventas de Heineken en Tenerife, Juan Carlos Torres.
João Bosco, Dhafer Youssef, Kenny Garrett, Cyrille Aimée, Christian Sands, Keyon Harrold, Allan Harris, Michael Olivera, Eva Cortés, Gilad Hekselman, Myles Sanko, Jungle Fire, Tanika Charles, Yotam Silberstein, Iñaki Arakistain, Ida Nielsen, Julian Lage o Naughty Professor son algunos de los proyectos musicales que forman el cartel de la 27ª edición. La Noche África, con la participación de Alex Ikot y Nelida Karr y varios proyectos locales completan una nueva entrega del veterano festival canario.
José Luis Rivero destacó “la potencia de este festival, con una la mayoría de su programación gratuita, que comienza y finaliza con conciertos en plazas al aire libre”. Además, el director insular de Cultura y Educación agradeció al festival su decidida apuesta cultural y haber ayudado a formar cantera de músicos de jazz en las islas.
Miguel Ramírez reivindicó al festival como reclamo del turismo cultural que viaja a las islas. Ramírez, quien se lamentó de no poder incluir La Gomera y El Hierro en el cartel, también agradeció la participación de instituciones y empresas públicas y privadas para sacar adelante el festival. “Aunque llevamos 27 años, sigue siendo un encaje de bolillo organizar cada edición”, aseguró el director, quien dejó claro que “no es fácil traer a artistas de la talla de João Bosco o Dhafer Youssef, que tocan en los mejores festivales del mundo”.
Alfonso Cabello se congratuló de que el festival vuelva a Santa Cruz tras no haber logrado un acuerdo en la pasada edición. “Es uno de los primeros eventos del verano, en los que la música va a ser muy importante”, adelantó. Tomás López-Perea aplaudió el nivel del cartel de este año y auguró el éxito de las dos citas que acoge el Teatro Leal. Juan Carlos Torres, por su parte, mostró la satisfacción de Heineken Canarias por volver a participar como principal patrocinador de este festival.
Además de estrellas consagradas del género, el festival vuelve a apostar por nuevas propuestas, músicos que experimentan con nuevas tendencias partiendo del clasicismo, proyectos que buscan la fusión de culturas, de ritmos dispares, de músicas latinas, árabes o flamencas. De esta manera, habrá soul, rock, funk, hip hop…
El festival cuenta con la colaboración de los municipios de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Adeje, Puerto de la Cruz, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Lucía de Tirajana, Santa Brígida, Puerto del Rosario, Teguise y Los Llanos de Aridane, y el patrocinio del Gobierno de Canarias y los Cabildos de Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, Fuerteventura y Lanzarote, Casa África, Auditorio de Tenerife, Fundación Auditorio y Teatro de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Teatro Leal, Teatro Guiniguada y Binter. Organizado por Colorado Producciones, cuenta una edición más con el patrocinio de la firma Heineken.