Les Arts dedicates an intense weekend of free cultural and educational activities to Poulenc

Les Arts és Per a Tots

• Les Arts brings the figure of the composer of 'Dialogues des Carmélites' closer to the public, with concerts, theatre, recitals, a round table and an exhibition
• The Aula Magistral and the Teatre Martín i Soler host the 'Poulenc 72 h' cultural marathon from Friday, January 24th to Sunday, January 26th inclusive

Valencia (19.01.25). The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía proposes, from January 24 to 26 inclusive, 'Poulenc 72 h', a cultural and educational marathon around Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), composer of 'Dialogues des Carmélites', the title with which the operatic program of 2025 begins.

After the excellent reception of the previous monographs dedicated to Mozart, Rossini and Verdi, Les Arts delves into one of the essential names of the 20th century on the occasion of the premiere in Valencia of his masterpiece, in a production by Robert Carsen, with musical direction by Riccardo Minasi.

The Aula Magistral and the Teatre Martín i Soler will be the main venues for this retrospective on the life and work of Poulenc, which includes concerts, theater performances, recitals, a panel discussion, and an exhibition. All activities are free, but reservations are required and can be made through the Les Arts website.

'Poulenc 72 h' is developed in collaboration with various cultural and educational institutions. On this occasion, the professors of the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and the artists of the Centre de Perfeccionament de Les Arts share the stage with students from the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático de Valencia (ESAD), the professional music conservatories of València and Requena, the Conservatorio Superior de Música Joaquín Rodrigo, and the Coral Catedralicia de València.

Agenda

'Poulenc 72 h' kicks off on Friday, January 24 , at 5:00 p.m., with 'Poulenc on Stage', a round table discussion in the lobby of the Teatre Martín i Soler, in which professionals from Les Arts and the Higher School of Dramatic Art of Valencia (ESAD) will discuss the details of the first collaboration between both institutions for the staging of 'Les mamelles de Tirésias'.

The Teatre Martín i Soler will later host, at 7:00 p.m., a performance of the Spanish-language adaptation of this play by Guillaume Apollinaire, which Poulenc used as the basis for his opera of the same name. 'Les mamelles de Tirésias' was also Les Arts' first foray into the Poulenc repertoire, in a production by Ted Huffman that premiered in 2019.

The day also includes the concert 'En harmonia amb Poulenc' by musicians from the Professional Conservatory of Valencia at 5:30 p.m. in the Aula Magistral and the presentation of the exhibition 'Babar en Les Arts', carried out in collaboration with educational centers of the Valencian Community.

On Saturday the 25th, the artistic program begins with a family-friendly performance of 'The Story of Babar,' the musical adaptation for piano and narrator by the French composer of Jean de Brunhoff's famous illustrated tale. The Teatre Martín i Soler will host a single performance of this production at 11:00 a.m., featuring Judit Kerstész on keyboard and actor Manuel Maestro.

On the same day, undergraduate and master's students of singing from the Higher Conservatory of Music of Valencia propose, for their part, two recitals in the Magistral Hall (12:00 and 17:00 h, respectively) with a program in which they recover part of the repertoire for voice of Poulenc.

The students of the 'Mariano Pérez Sánchez' Professional Music Conservatory of Requena close the day at the Teatre Martín i Soler with 'Poulenc de fin a principio' (6:30 pm), a dramatized chamber music project, which reviews the composer's life from his death to his birth, highlighting in its development some of his musical pieces both for chamber music and for voice.

On Sunday, January 26 , the Aula Magistral hosts a musical matinee (11:00 am) in which the professors of the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana will perform a selection of works.

part of Poulenc's chamber music repertoire, with piano accompaniment by Polina Bodganova and Weronika Mackievicz.

The concert also features students from the chamber music classroom of the Higher Conservatory of Music of Valencia, as well as the Valencia Cathedral Choir, which will close the program with several a cappella pieces by the composer of 'Dialogues des Carmélites'.

The singers and pianists of the Centre de Perfeccionament will bring 'Poulenc 72 h' to a close with a recital in which they will intersperse works by Poulenc with pieces by some of his contemporaries, such as Fernando Obradors or Joaquín Turina, among others.

Les Arts reminds everyone that all activities are free, with prior booking on the Les Arts website.