On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. the Chamber Hall hosts a talk with Javier Almuzara with free entry until full capacity is reached

 

The Auditorio de Tenerife is a cultural venue linked to the Department of Culture of the Tenerife Island Council that is managed by its island's Minister of Culture, Enrique Arriaga. On Thursday, the 13th at 7:30 p.m. a talk with the librettist of the opera Fuenteovejuna, Javier Almuzara, who will break down the process of adapting the Golden Age classic by Lope de Vega. Entry is free until full capacity is reached. 

The composer Jorge Muñiz received a commission from the Opera of Oviedo Foundation to adapt the opera Fuenteovejuna, to mark the 400th anniversary of the creation of Lope de Vega's work, a masterpiece of the Spanish Golden Age. The world premiere of this adaptation with a libretto by Almuzara took place in Asturias in 2018. The Auditorio de Tenerife will be the second venue to offer the performance of this contemporary work on 18, 20 and 22 October.

Javier Almuzara (Oviedo, 1969) has published several poetry books, including El sueño de una sombra (1990), Por la secreta escala (1994), Constantes vitales (2004, Emilio Alarcos Award), Caravana y desierto (2014, a series of lyrical recreations based on the Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam), Quede claro: Antología poética 1989-2013 (2014, with a prologue by Miguel d'Ors, and which includes the unpublished poetry collection Siempre y cuando, A la de tres (2017, Haikus collection) and Todos los besos son de despedida (2021). He is also the author of the diary Letra y música (2001), of the miscellaneous prose book Títere con cabeza (2005, Café Bretón Award) and of the book of essays Catálogo de asombros(2012). 

He was the scriptwriter of Manos a la ópera, an educational programme on the Television Network of the Principality of Asturias, and he is the librettist of the opera Fuenteovejuna (Espuela de Plata, 2018). He runs reading and literary creation workshops and literature and history of music courses at centres such as the Open University of Gijón and the National Distance Education University (UNED).

As for next week's opera performances, Santiago Serrate will lead the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra as musical director. The stage direction is by Miguel del Arco, and, for the shows in Tenerife, Raúl Vázquez will be in charge of stage revival direction. The stage design was by Paco Azorín, while the costumes were devised by Sandra Espinosa. The lighting direction which can be enjoyed in the Symphony Hall is by Juanjo Llorens.

As for the cast, the soprano María Miró will be Laurencia, the daughter of the mayor of Fuenteovejuna. Her sweetheart, Frondoso, will be played by the tenor Antonio Gandía. The bass Felipe Bou will play the municipal ruler, while the baritone Damián del Castillo will be transformed into the ruthless commander Fernán Goméz. The bass-baritone Fernando Latorre will provide the voice of his assistant. 

The roles of the villagers Mengo, Pascuala and Jacinta will be performed by the tenor David Astorga, the soprano Isabella Gaudí and the mezzo-soprano Marina Pardo, respectively. The tenor Juan Noval-Moro will play the magistrate who will issue a judgement on the town. The voices of the soloists will be joined by another thirty members of the Tenerife-Intermezzo Resident Choir.

This opera, in three acts, shows that some questions posed by Lope de Vega have remained valid four centuries later: the united force of a social mass under the repression of the established power and corruption. Muñiz - first Grand Prize of the European Young Composers - ratifies his commitment to social issues with this work.

The tickets are available on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the auditorium's box office or by dialling the phone number 902 317 327 from Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 05:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 02:00 p.m. Check the special discounts for students, unemployed, large families and holders of the TEN+JUB and TEN+DIS cards issued by the Tenerife Island Council as well as the special price of €5 for the audience under 30 years of age. 

The subscription for Opera de Tenerife is available until October 17th, including five of the seven performances of the season: (Fuenteovejuna, Un ballo in maschera, Nancy Fabiola y sus invitados (Nancy Fabiola and her guests), DER ZWERG (THE DWARF) and Tannhäuser). Prices of the Opera Club pass start at 100 Euros and it provides a 20 percent discount on the cost of tickets. There is also a discounted pass for members of large families (-30%) and the offer continues for young people under the age of 30, who can enjoy the five products -all of them, except the chamber and family operas- for 20 Euros, that is to say, four Euros per title.