Les Arts premieres the operetta ‘The Singer of Mexico’ starring Rossy de Palma and José Luis Sola
31.10.2022
'Arts is Education'
- Óliver Díaz takes over the musical direction of this score of catchy rhythms and great beauty that Francis López composed for the legendary Luis Mariano
- Emilio Sagi presents his successful show in Valencia, featuring technicolor aesthetics, a fast-paced rhythm, overflowing humor, and spectacular musical numbers.
Valencia (31.10.2022). Les Arts delves into operetta with 'El cantor de México', by Francis López, which premieres this coming November 4, with actress Rossy de Palma and tenor José Luis Sola as protagonists, under the musical direction of Óliver Díaz and stage direction of Emilio Sagi.
The artistic director of Les Arts, Jesús Iglesias Noriega, presented this title at a press conference, which will be performed in the Main Hall until November 12, accompanied by Óliver Díaz, Nuria Castejón, choreographer and assistant stage director, Rossy de Palma and José Luis Sola.
Iglesias Noriega has framed the commitment to a genre, unprecedented in the programming to date, within Les Arts' vocation to become a true musical theatre where all audiences can find their own space.
“That is why we have chosen one of the most acclaimed productions of recent years, which has everything it takes to captivate those who come to Les Arts to discover operetta and enjoy two and a half hours of a lively and optimistic show, full of humor, with beautiful music and catchy rhythms, not forgetting the exuberant and colorful staging by Emilio Sagi.”
Francis López composed for the tenor Luis Mariano —one of the great myths of the genre in Spain and France during the 50s and 60s— 'The Singer of Mexico', whose original title is 'Le chanteur de Mexico', which premiered, with overwhelming success, on December 15, 1951 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.
In 2006, the work returned to that same stage under the direction of Emilio Sagi, to once again bring the French public to its feet with his brilliant adaptation of the work, in an acclaimed production with Rossy de Palma, which eleven years later, translated and adapted into Spanish and with the multifaceted actress, also caused a sensation at the opening of the season of the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid in 2017.
Les Arts premieres this Friday the celebrated co-production of the Madrid theater with the Lausanne Opera, with stage direction by Sagi, set design by Daniel Bianco, costumes by Renata Schussheim, lighting by Eduardo Bravo and choreography by Nuria Castejón.
Sagi's eye-catching proposal delves into a universe bordering on 'kitsch', with a spectacular set design by Daniel Bianco, which recreates a tropical, sophisticated, sensual world in the technicolor aesthetic of the great Hollywood musicals.
A delirium of colors, accompanied also by a highly versatile score, in which styles and genres as varied as boleros, 'swing', mambo, Basque song, Mexican folklore succeed one another… where the public will recognize numerous melodies and will soon become familiar with many others, as its musical director Óliver Díaz points out, who already directed the premiere of the operetta in Madrid.
For this new version of 'The Singer of Mexico', Emilio Sagi has adapted the old libretto, putting the fiction of the operetta within the fiction of the film shoot, in which the male protagonist suddenly leaves the production and the team must immediately look for a replacement for the partner of Eva Marshall, the insufferable and selfish film diva of the moment, played by Rossy de Palma.
Beside him, José Luis Sola from Pamplona, who already received public and critical acclaim in Madrid at the premiere of 'The Singer of Mexico', plays Vicente Etxebar, the handsome Basque tenor and aspiring star who will soon awaken the interest of the capricious actress.
Enrique Baquerizo, in the role of producer Riccardo Cartoni, Sylvia Parejo (Cricri, his secretary), Toni Marsol (Bilou), José Luis Martínez (Mr. Boucher), Ana Goya (Mrs. Cécile), María José Suárez (María), Nagore Navarro (Lupita), Miguel Huertas (the choirmaster) and Eduardo Carranza (Tizoc) complete the cast.
Les Arts presents 'The Singer of Mexico' on November 4, 6, 9, 10, and 12 in the Main Hall. Ticket prices range from €28 to €70. For more information, please visit www.lesarts.com .
