Les Arts proposes a journey through eight centuries of music in its 2021-2022 Season

• American James Gaffigan takes over as musical director of Les Arts for the next four seasons.
• Carlos Álvarez, Marianne Crebassa, Joyce DiDonato, Matthias Goerne, Alex Esposito, David Hansen, Peter Mattei, Leo Nucci, Anna Pirozzi, Lissette Oropesa, Marina Rebeka and Pretty Yende, main vocals.

Valencia (June 29, 2021). The Regional Secretary for Culture and Sport, Raquel Tamarit, the Artistic Director of Les Arts, Jesús Iglesias Noriega, and the President of the Board of Trustees of Les Arts, Pablo Font de Mora, presented the program for the 2021-2022 season, a journey through the history of music from the Middle Ages to the 21st century through the different programming lines that comprise it.

According to Raquel Tamarit: “Jesús Iglesias Noriega and the entire team have consolidated a project that is making Les Arts a cultural center with which the public identifies, both for the excellent opera season and for all the parallel activities. It's a benchmark that now extends far beyond the building that houses us, because Les Arts travels throughout our region with programming in numerous towns and cities, bringing its musical offerings to our communities.” She added: “Furthermore, the magnificent Les Arts team is growing with the new season, and we eagerly await James Gaffigan. The Valencian Government's Department of Culture has our full support, both in terms of close collaboration and financial resources, as we do everything possible each year to increase our investment in musical theater for the people of Valencia. This year, with €19.3 million, we have a budget almost 50% higher than six years ago.”

For his part, Pablo Font de Mora pointed out that “the new season consolidates the artistic model that Les Arts launched with the appointment of Iglesias Noriega: a program of international quality, which does not forget the excellences of the territory, where there is room for a wide range of genres, styles and performers so that every citizen can find their place in the theater.”

Jesús Iglesias Noriega has announced that “the 2021-2022 season also marks the beginning of a new period for the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, which, with the appointment of James Gaffigan as the new musical director of Les Arts for the next four years, begins a period of stability and growth.”

James Gaffigan will be in charge of opening and closing the season with two landmark events: Romeo Castellucci's revolutionary staging of Mozart's 'Requiem'; and Alban Berg's avant-garde and still unpublished 'Wozzeck'; in addition to a concert in which he conducts works by Rodrigo, Ravel and Dvořák.

“Artistically,” Iglesias Noriega pointed out, “the program’s core elements remain the same: the presence of Mozart ('Requiem') and Verdi with 'Macbeth'; the revival of Central European repertoire with 'Wozzeck'; the restoration of Spanish heritage with Manuel García; the inclusion of previously unseen masterpieces with Offenbach’s 'Les contes d'Hoffmann'; as well as a diversity of styles, from the Baroque of Handel’s 'Ariodante' and 'Parthenope', through Puccini’s verismo or contemporary opera with Bernstein’s 'Trouble in Tahiti'.”

The search for new aesthetics materializes with the premiere of the co-production of 'Requiem' in which Castellucci transforms the unfinished requiem mass into a song to life; Richard Jones' adaptation of the chivalric intrigue of 'Ariodante' to a fishing island in 20th-century Scotland; Johannes Erath's powerful theatrical exercise in 'Les contes d'Hoffmann'; Benedict Andrews' sober staging of 'Macbeth'; or Andreas Kriegenburg's production of 'Wozzeck', a reference production of the work.

In the staging, two women sign the only two new productions of the season: Bárbara Lluch, with a growing presence on the national scene, directs 'Un avvertimento ai gelosi', by Manuel García; while Sol Picó presents a new dance show, 'Titanas', in which her renowned talent converges with the unique language of three other choreographers.

The musical direction of each of the proposals is entrusted to specialists in each of the titles: William Christie and Andrea Marcon in the Baroque repertoire; Marc Minkowski to conduct the critical edition of 'Les contes d'Hoffmann' with the OCV; Michele Mariotti as a renowned Verdi conductor; the emerging Antonino Fogliani for Puccini; or Jordi Bernàcer for 'Doña Francisquita'.

Similarly, in the symphonic section, the most prestigious conductors work with the OCV: Juanjo Mena with a monograph on Kaija Saariaho, a key figure in contemporary music; Gustavo Gimeno in his rise in the Mahlerian universe; the emerging Riccardo Minasi in a suggestive program that combines the Viennese fascination with the Italian imaginary; Josep Pons for Falla and Ravel; or the sought-after Mark Elder who debuts at Les Arts with Strauss and Stravinsky.

In the vocal section, the artistic director highlighted three key performances. Marina Rebeka, who captivated audiences in 2018 with her Traviata, will make her debut in the role of Cio-Cio-San in 'Madama Butterfly'. Meanwhile, another of today's biggest stars, Pretty Yende, will take on one of the greatest challenges of her career: portraying all four muses in 'Les contes d'Hoffmann' for the first time. And Carlos Álvaro returns to Les Arts to star in 'Macbeth'.

Iglesias Noriega also referred to the important list of still unpublished performers such as Piero Pretti ('Madama Butterfly'), John Osborn and Alex Esposito ('Les contes d'Hoffmann'), David Hansen, Christophe Dumaux, Jane Archibald and Sandrine Piau ('Ariodante') and Peter Mattei ('Wozzeck').

Also returning are established artists such as Anna Pirozzi and Marco Mimica in 'Macbeth'; or renowned voices from the German repertoire such as Eva-Maria Westbroek and Christopher Ventris in 'Wozzeck' along with Ruth Iniesta and Ismael Jordi in 'Doña Francisquita'.

Following their exquisite performances this season, Joyce DiDonato and Marianne Crebassa will headline two sessions of 'Les Arts és Lied,' in which the Les Arts audience will have the opportunity to hear, for the first time, artists of the caliber of Matthias Goerne, Benjamin Bernheim, Lissette Oropesa, and Jakub Józef Orliński. Meanwhile, 'Les Arts és Grans Veus' offers the reunion of two singers much beloved by our audience, Leo Nucci and Erwin Schrott, with a program dedicated to Giuseppe Verdi.

For its part, 'Les Arts és Dansa' continues its commitment to showcasing the diverse facets of this discipline. In addition to the new production 'Titanas' featuring Sol Picó from Alcoy, Spanish dance will be represented by the National Ballet of Spain, which will present 'Invocación', including some of its most recent creations. The series will close with one of the great works of the repertoire, 'La Bayadère', performed by the Perm Opera Ballet, one of Russia's most prestigious companies.

Furthermore, in collaboration with the CNDM (National Center for Musical Diffusion), a new section has been established to address a long-standing gap in programming regarding Baroque and early music and its important national tradition. The main ensembles comprise 'Les Arts és Barroc i Música Antiga' (Les Arts is Baroque and Early Music), which marks the debut at Les Arts of Carles Magraner and his Capella de Ministrers, along with the Valencian ensemble Harmonia del Parnàs, directed by Marian Rosa Montagut.

Finally, Jesús Iglesias Noriega noted that the remaining lines of the program are maintained and growing in diversity, with new events in 'Les Arts és Flamenco' and 'Les Arts és Altres Músiques', in addition to the 'Les Arts és Per a Tots' cycle and the education and training sections.