Les Arts és Òpera Les Arts delves for the first time into the work of Leonard Bernstein with 'Trouble in Tahiti' • Jordi Francés conducts the singers of the Center de Perfectionament and the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in this production by Ted H
28.02.2022
Les Arts és Òpera
Les Arts delves into the work of Leonard Bernstein for the first time with 'Trouble in Tahiti'
- Jordi Francés conducts the singers from the Center de Perfectionament and the Valencian Community Orchestra in this production by Ted Huffman
- Tickets for this show by the creator of 'West Side Story' are priced at a single rate of 35 euros.
Valencia (28.2.22). The Palau de les Arts delves for the first time into the lyrical work of Leonard Bernstein with the opera 'Trouble in Tahiti', which premieres this coming Thursday, March 3, at the Teatre Martín i Soler.
The artistic director of Les Arts, Jesús Iglesias Noriega, presented this title to the media today, accompanied by Jordi Francés from Alicante, musical director of the work; Carlos Martos de la Vega, stage director of the revival, and the soprano María Bayo, artistic advisor of the Centre de Perfeccionament, whose singers make up the entire cast of the work.
As Iglesias Noriega explained, the commitment to opening Les Arts to unpublished composers or less common repertoires also includes the programming of the Centre de Perfeccionament, as well as its training project, aimed at offering the highest and most complete preparation for artists before entering the job market.
“If a few months ago we met to present the first production of 'Un avvertimento ai gelosi', by Manuel García, the second foray of the Centre de Perfeccionament travels 120 years later in the repertoire to discover to the spectators one of the great geniuses of the 20th century, Leonard Bernstein, still unknown to our public.”
'Trouble in Tahiti' (1952), notes the artistic director of Les Arts, is a scathing critique of the 'American dream', in which the composer of 'West Side Story' portrays the miseries and shortcomings of the capitalist system to the beat of his music, genuinely American, rooted in jazz and Broadway musicals.
As a main novelty for these performances at Les Arts, Iglesias Noriega points out, at the beginning of the performance the prologue and postlude of Act I of 'A Quiet Place', sequel to this opera, premiered in 1983, are performed as a premonition of the future that awaits the protagonists, 30 years later, after the Vietnam War.
Jordi Francés, from Alicante, makes his debut with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana with this production. As a conductor, his career spans opera, symphonic repertoire, and contemporary works, with over 80 premieres to his credit. Francés also combines his conducting duties with the artistic direction of Ensemble Sonido Extremo, a musical group committed to promoting culture and art through music.
Carlos Martos de la Vega revives this production by Ted Huffman for the Dutch National Opera, with set design by Elena Zamparutti, costumes by Gisella Cappelli, lighting by Alex Brok, video by Pierre Martin Oriol and choreography by Sam Pinkleton.
Following his brilliant staging of 'Les mamelles de Tirésias', Huffman offers an intelligent critique of the 'American way of life' in a fresh and agile production that questions the exorbitant materialism of 1950s society by placing the protagonists in an empty swimming pool where everything one longs to buy in this life fits.
The singers from the Centre de Perfeccionament de Les Arts make up the cast of the work, with the Madrid-born mezzo-soprano Laura Orueta in the role of Dinah, the Peruvian baritone Alejandro Sánchez as Sam and the members of the vocal trio: the Mexican mezzo-soprano Mariana Sofía García, the British tenor Xavier Hetherington and the Mexican baritone Carlos Fernando Reynoso.
In addition to its premiere this Thursday, March 3, 'Trouble in Tahiti' will be performed at the Teatre Martín i Soler on the 9th and 13th of that same month. Tickets for this one-hour show are priced at a single rate of 35 euros.
