Les Arts premieres in Spain the staged version of Mozart's 'Requiem' designed by Romeo Castellucci

'Les Arts és Òpera'

• James Gaffigan , in his first appearance in the Main Hall as musical director, takes the helm of the Cor de la Generalitat and the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana
• Elena Tsallagova, Sara Mingardo, Sebastian Kohlhepp and Nahuel Di Pierro make up the list of soloists

Valencia (28.09.21). The Palau de les Arts begins its opera season next Thursday, September 30, with the Spanish premiere of the theatrical version of Mozart's 'Requiem' , created by Romeo Castellucci, under the musical direction of James Gaffigan.

Jesús Iglesias Noriega, artistic director of Les Arts, presented today at a press conference the first title of the 'Les Arts és Òpera' section as "one of the most relevant bets in this new stage of the theater as a promoter of new aesthetics and reference proposals in the opera circuit."

“Romeo Castellucci, one of the leading figures in the avant-garde theater scene in Europe, premieres his acclaimed version of Mozart’s unfinished Requiem Mass in Spain. Staged as a hymn to life of extraordinary visual beauty and overwhelming theatrical force, the playwright and visual artist’s production is considered one of the essential shows of recent years.”

' Requiem ' is a co-production of Les Arts with Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Adelaide Festival, Theatre Basel, Wiener Festwochen and La Monnaie / De Munt, with Romeo Castellucci as the stage director, set designer, costume designer and lighting designer. Silvia Costa (associate stage director), Evelin Facchini (choreographer) and Piersandra di Matteo (dramaturgy) complete the creative team.

Iglesias Noriega also highlighted "the excellent members with whom Les Arts is tackling one of the biggest challenges, both musically and technically, of the 2021-2022 season."

“James Gaffigan, a great connoisseur of Mozart’s music, and particularly of his 'Requiem', makes his debut as musical director in the Main Hall at the head of the theater's permanent ensembles: the Cor de la Generalitat, exceptional in one of its most complex and demanding works both vocally and scenically, and the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, a reference formation in the pit.”

“In the soloists section, Les Arts brings together outstanding performers of the Mozartian repertoire: Elena Tsallagova, Sara Mingardo, Sebastian Kohlhepp and Nahuel Di Pierro, as well as the child soprano Juan José Visquert from the Escolania de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats,” he noted.

James Gaffigan, for his part, highlighted Castellucci's outstanding staging, which never distracts the audience or disturbs Mozart's music; on the contrary, it enhances its excellence. The New York musician also praised the Cor de la Generalitat's excellent work, both musically and theatrically, in meeting the demands of the production.

Saying goodbye to life

Fully embracing the fragmented nature of the 'Requiem', Castellucci brings to life a spectacle constructed from a series of silent images capable of expressing the imperative need to say goodbye to life.

The Italian artist captures the fading of life as the origin of all possible human beauty. This 'Requiem' defies what one might expect from a funeral mass; it is not a space for lamentation, but rather a celebration of life in its inherent fragility.

A constant projection of names of animals, plants, towns, languages, cities, and extinct feelings can be read in parallel with what is happening on stage. The phrases take the form of a farewell to elements connected to the lives of each spectator, thanks to an approach to our time and the abandonment of things close to the viewer.

As Castellucci himself explained, “'Requiem' addresses the fundamental question of time, of the hope of rebirth; it explores the origin and the end, but also the end as origin.”

'Requiem'

Les Arts has scheduled six performances of Mozart's 'Requiem' on September 30 and October 2, 3, 6, 8 and 10.