Les Arts begins general sales of tickets and non-renewable passes for the 2016-2017 Season shows

The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía begins general ticket and non-renewable pass sales for the 2016-2017 Season shows this Friday, October 14.

To this end, the arts center enables the different sales channels: its website www.lesarts.com, the telephone line 961 975 900, Instant Ticket -on the telephone 902 444 300-, as well as at the Les Arts box offices.

For the second year in a row, the cultural center has designed a program of non-renewable season tickets that combine different offerings in its program. Discounts range from 25% to 70% of the ticket price, depending on the beneficiary group and the type of show.

Thus, the range of possibilities includes a pass that brings together the concerts of the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, another dedicated to chamber music, a third that encompasses the programming of the Teatre Martín i Soler and the 3 Rooms Pass that groups together in five different modalities shows in Main Hall, Auditori and Teatre Martín i Soler.

For younger audiences, Les Arts is also relaunching and expanding the Jove a Les Arts pass, aimed at those under 30 and holders of the Carnet Jove card, who, from 63.60 euros, can enjoy four titles from the season: “I vespri siciliani” by Verdi; “Werther” by Massenet; “The Turn of the Screw” by Britten, and the ballet “The Three-Cornered Hat”.

Star season

Plácido Domingo, Gregory Kunde, Mariella Devia, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Daniela Barcellona and Vivica Genaux are the main stars of the 2016-2017 Season program, which covers everything from the Baroque era to 20th century opera, as well as great titles from the repertoire.

Verdi's "I vespri siciliani" opens the season in December with Roberto Abbado conducting and a top-notch cast: tenor Gregory Kunde, soprano Anna Pirozzi, baritone Juan Jesús Rodríguez, and Russian bass Alexander Vinogradov. Davide Livermore directs this ABAO and Regio di Torino production, which was chosen by "Musical America" as one of the ten best shows of 2012.

This is followed in January by an unprecedented show: Haydn's "Philemon und Baucis", an opera for puppets at the Teatre Martín i Soler by the Carlo Colla e Figli company, under the baton of Fabio Biondi.

Verdi's "La Traviata" returns to the stage in February with the Rome Opera's lavish production, featuring cinematography by Sofia Coppola, costumes by Valentino, and a stellar cast including Plácido Domingo as Germont, alongside Marina Rebeka and tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz as Violetta Valéry and Alfredo Germont. Ramón Tebar conducts.

In March and April, the first new production of the season premieres: Donizetti's "Lucrezia Borgia," directed by Emilio Sagi. Fabio Biondi tackles one of the composer's most demanding scores, especially for the title role, which falls to the diva Mariella Devia, who will share the stage with Silvia Tro Santafé, Valencia's most internationally renowned mezzo-soprano.

May is dedicated to French opera, with Massenet's "Werther," conducted by Henrik Nánási, principal conductor of the Komische Oper Berlin. Werther is the quintessential tenor role due to its demanding notes, and it will be sung by Jean-François Borras, who received critical acclaim after replacing Jonas Kaufmann in the same role in New York. Alongside him sings one of the most captivating voices on the scene, mezzo-soprano Anna Caterina Antonacci. Jean-Louis Grinda is the stage director of this new production, a co-production between Les Arts and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo.

In June, the arts center delves into 20th-century repertoire and the work of Britten with "The Turn of the Screw" at the Teatre Martín i Soler. Christopher Franklin leads the resident companies of Les Arts in this masterpiece with its intriguing plot, in a new production by Davide Livermore.

That same month, on the 15th, the Auditori hosts an opera in a concert-performance format. Fabio Biondi discovers another 'rarity' of the Baroque: “Piramo e Tisbe”, by the German Johann Adolf Hasse, with the 'prima donna' Vivica Genaux as the main star.

Rossini concludes the operatic offerings with his first mature work, “Tancredi,” conducted by Roberto Abbado in a production by Emilio Sagi for the Opéra de Lausanne and the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile. Daniela Barcellona, a leading Rossini mezzo-soprano, sings the role of Tancredi. She is joined in the cast by soprano Jessica Pratt and the acclaimed Chinese tenor Yijie Shi.

Ballet, concerts and chamber music

For the second year in a row, the program includes a ballet performance. From April 21 to 24, in the Main Hall, the director of the National Ballet of Spain, Antonio Najarro, presents a tribute performance to Antonio Ruiz Soler, 'Antonio the Dancer', featuring several of his most emblematic choreographies, including "The Three-Cornered Hat".

Works of different styles and periods comprise the concert program for the 2016-2017 Season. Fabio Biondi will conduct "Israel in Egypt" at the Auditori on December 22, an oratorio by Handel, a composer of whom the musical director of Les Arts is a great connoisseur.

April 6th marks the premiere of Francisco Coll's new work, "Mural," which will be performed alongside Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde," featuring tenor Gregory Kunde. On May 11th, Francesc Perales will conduct the Cor de la Generalitat in Palestrina's "Misa del Papa Marcello."

Another new feature this season is the return of chamber music to the artistic program. This project, under the supervision of Fabio Biondi and the professors of the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, takes shape in three sessions at Espai Los Toros: 'Around Mozart', 'Italy Beyond Opera', and 'Baroque Germany'.