Les Arts is committed to the great operatic repertoire, classical ballet, zarzuela and Valencian tradition

The Palau de les Arts is committed to the great lyrical repertoire, classical ballet, zarzuela and Valencian musical tradition in the 2018-2019 season, which was presented today by Susana Lloret, president of the Board of Trustees of Les Arts, and the regional secretary of Culture and Sport, Albert Girona.

As Albert Girona explained: “Les Arts offers a compact and diverse season for the new year, in line with the great opera houses, but without forgetting the particularities of its environment and its audience.”

The motto of the new program is “Les emocions a flor de pell” (Emotions on the skin), with an image created by the Les Arts team of photographers and designers, reflecting the openness of Les Arts to a broad public, as well as the spirit of the program, which has been designed with different lyrical, symphonic or educational proposals, through the human skin.

A motto that, as Susana Lloret explained, “aims to put people, the citizens, at the forefront and highlight the theater's openness to society.” The president of the Les Arts Board of Trustees added: “Art in general, and music and opera in particular, express feelings and emotions that are the heritage of all people. Therefore, the human experience, of men and women of different ages, is the common thread that tells us what will happen at Les Arts in the coming months.”

In total, the cultural center offers 36 opera performances, 6 classical ballet performances with orchestra, 12 symphonic concerts, 2 chamber music events, 3 recitals, more than 20 days of free activities and more than fifteen educational programs.

The structure from previous years remains the same. Les Arts begins its activities for the public in mid-September with a preseason at affordable prices, with opera tickets between 7 and 50 euros and concert tickets between 10 and 20 euros.

The preseason offerings include six performances of Puccini's opera 'Turandot'; the concert 'Homenatges. Matilde Salvador i Claude Debussy'; an evening of zarzuela and Spanish music; and the Noves Veus concert.

“Ideal proposals to bring Les Arts closer to new audiences,” Susana Lloret highlighted, “with internationally renowned artists such as singers Marco Berti and Jennifer Wilson, the Valencian Jordi Bernàcer, and emerging directors such as Alpesh Chauhan or the Valencian Pablo Rus.”

The month of December marks the beginning of the traditional subscription season, which runs until the end of July, in which Roberto Abbado, the theater's musical director, shares the spotlight with some of the most outstanding conductors of the moment.

Gustavo Gimeno, Henrik Nánási, Guillermo García Calvo and Christopher Franklin will work on the symphonic and operatic repertoire with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, along with Ramón Tebar, Lothar Koenigs, Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Óliver Díaz, Santiago Serrate and Gabor Takács-Nagy.

Italian opera, with Verdi and Puccini at the forefront, and the universal Mozart, coexist with the great Romantic and post-Romantic symphonists and the most iconic American composers of the 20th century, among the different works that the resident ensemble of Les Arts will address.

In the opera section, a new co-production with the Macerata Festival of Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' opens the opera season, which also includes Roberto Abbado's foray into the lesser-known Verdi with 'I masnadieri'; the return of Russian opera to the program with Tchaikovsky's 'Iolanta', under the direction of Henrik Nánási, and zarzuela with Manuel Penella's 'La malquerida', in the Les Arts production with the Teatros del Canal.

The proposals also include two outstanding titles from the great repertoire with Roberto Abbado on the podium: Verdi's 'Rigoletto' and Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor'.

In the artistic field, Plácido Domingo, in his roles as singer and conductor, maintains his connection with Valencia, which materializes in two commitments, in addition to the celebration of the 10th anniversary of his Centre de Perfeccionament.

But the 2018-2019 season also marks the debut of major figures such as baritone Leo Nucci, a leading interpreter of Rigoletto, and pianist Lang Lang, who join the roster of important names returning to Les Arts, including singers Dmitry Korchak, Artur Ruciński, Celso Albelo, Michele Pertusi, Jessica Pratt and Yijie Shi, as well as stage directors of the caliber of Graham Vick, Mariusz Treliński and Emilio Sagi.

The presence of Valencians with a recognized career is completed with singers such as Cristina Faus, Maite Alberola and Carmen Romeu, in addition to the stage director Emilio López, who signs 'La malquerida', by Penella.

Following the recent forays into Spanish dance, the quintessential title of the classical repertoire, 'Swan Lake' by Tchaikovsky, is offered during the Christmas period, with the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana in the pit and the corps de ballet of the Astana Opera.

The musical program also highlights the tributes Les Arts will pay to illustrious figures during the 2018-2019 season. Jordi Bernácer will commemorate the centenary of Matilde Salvador's birth and the centenary of Claude Debussy's death in 'Homenatges', while Christopher Franklin will do the same for the centenary of Leonard Bernstein's birth in 'Des dels Estats Units'.

The professors of the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, for their part, will pay tribute to Joaquín Rodrigo in the chamber music cycle, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his death.

Other activities and educational program

Les Arts maintains its commitment to free activities, which will begin in September with the traditional open house, but will also include the Mozartian marathon 'Mozart Nacht und Tag', the two evenings of Nit a les Arts, the Dia de la Dona Treballadora, the 'Bandes a les Arts' cycle, along with the recitals at the IVAM, the operatic lectures of Ramon Gener or the European Opera Days.

The educational program, which is accessed by around 10,000 students each season, increases the family-friendly show options and includes new suggestions such as 'Babies Only', aimed at the youngest children, or 'Tell me an opera'.