The Palau de les Arts brings together prominent Valencian performers in Maror, by Manuel Palau

– Manuel Galduf makes his debut in the pit of the Valencian arts center in the world premiere of the first operatic production of this work

– Antonio Díaz Zamora is responsible for the staging of this opera, considered the first one written in Valencian.

Valencia. The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía brings together leading performers from the Valencian Community for the world premiere of the first production of the opera Maror , by Manuel Palau, which closes the 2013-2014 Season of the cultural center.

With this production by renowned Valencian professionals, the arts center celebrates the figure of Manuel Palau (1893-1967), considered by many to be "the Sorolla of Valencian music," as highlighted by the general director of CulturArts, Manuel Tomás, at the presentation of this project.

Sopranos Minerva Moliner (Rosa) and Sandra Ferrández (Teresa), tenor Javier Palacios (Tonet) and baritone Josep Miquel Ramon (Toni) head the cast of Maror , Valencian opera in three acts, with music by Manuel Palau and text by Xavier Casp, which premieres on April 24, 2014.

Manuel Galduf makes his debut leading the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana with this title, in a production by Antonio Díaz Zamora with set design by Manuel Zuriaga, in which the Cor de la Generalitat and the Escolania de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats also participate.

According to Palau himself, Maror offers a profoundly human drama set between the four main characters, the sisters Rosa and Teresa, Toni and his son Tonet.

The story takes place in the early 1940s in a town on the Valencian coast, within a family of fishermen. Tonet has been missing at sea for over three years, and his father, Toni, has just married his son's former girlfriend, Rosa.

The first act opens with the couple returning from their honeymoon, Rosa now pregnant. Their apparent happiness is soon shattered when Toni receives a letter from Tonet: his son is alive and preparing to return.

The christening of Rosa and Toni's son marks the beginning of the second act. More than a year has passed since Tonet's return, but the emotional tensions between father, son, and Rosa remain unresolved. Tonet is ready to leave home, but Teresa, Rosa's younger sister, will dissuade him when she reveals her feelings for him.

The third act culminates in Maror 's personal tragedy. Toni struggles between life and death at sea while Rosa, oblivious to his plight, cradles her baby. Tonet rushes to his father's aid, but his attempt fails. Several men rescue the young man, who, mortally wounded, dies amidst the desolation of Rosa and Teresa.

As Manuel Palau wrote: “Each character in Maror offers an inner, spiritual landscape, in which, in a certain way, the spirit of the lands, the mountains, and, above all, the Valencian Mediterranean is reflected.”

Quartet of Valencian performers

Minerva Moliner makes her debut at the Palau de les Arts in the role of Rosa, for which Manuel Palau has cast a soprano with a dramatic voice. The rising Valencian singer boasts several international awards, most notably the Special Prize for Spanish Singers at the Francisco Viñas International Competition. In her burgeoning career, she has performed in the auditoriums of Barcelona and Zaragoza, the Arriaga and Euskalduna theaters in Bilbao, the Nancy Opera House, and the Palau de la Música in Valencia, as well as its Catalan counterpart.

She has sung roles such as Violetta ( La Traviata ), Juliette ( Roméo et Juliette ), Konstanze ( Die Entführung aus dem Serail ), Gilda ( Rigoletto ), Olympia ( Les contes d'Hoffmann ), and Lucia ( Lucia di Lammermoor ). Her repertoire also includes Lieder , oratorio, and modern music. Minerva Moliner has also participated in a BBC recording of Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen , conducted by Kent Nagano and produced by the European Opera Centre.

Sandra Ferrández (Teresa) returns to the Valencian arts center where she has been directed by, among others, Ottavio Dantone ( L'isola del piacere ), Andrew Davis ( Ariadne auf Naxos ), Rubén Dubrovski ( L'arbore di Diana ), Lorin Maazel ( Aida , La vida breve ), and Omer Meir Wellber ( Aida , La vida breve ). Her accolades include, among other distinctions, the 2007 Ópera Actual Award for Best Young Singer.

The soprano from Crevillente has sung in Spain's leading concert halls and opera houses, where she has worked with renowned conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Guillermo García Calvo, Jesús López Cobos, Vasili Petrenko, and Massimo Zanetti. She has also toured the United States and Mexico.

Her lyrical repertoire encompasses both zarzuela and opera, in which her roles in Le roy d'Ys (Margared), Les contes d'Hoffmann (Giulietta), La vera costanza (Rosina), as well as Cosí fan tutte (Fiordiligi), Gianni Schicchi (Lauretta), Das Rheingold (Wellgunde), Die Walküre (Gerhilde), among other roles, stand out.

Javier Palacios will perform at the Palau de les Arts in the role of Tonet. The Valencian tenor, who has won numerous competitions, has sung in Spain's leading opera houses and also enjoys a significant international career with concerts in Germany, Chile, France, Greece, Italy, Israel, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the Baltic republics.

Her resume includes invitations from leading European opera houses such as the Semperoper in Dresden, La Fenice in Venice, and the Zurich Opera House, as well as festivals like those in Manchester and Stockholm, among other engagements. She has also worked with prestigious conductors such as Frédéric Chaslin, Plácido Domingo, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Pedro Halffter, Zubin Mehta, Piergiorgio Morandi, and Renato Palumbo. Her biography also highlights a concert tour in several countries with Montserrat Caballé, as well as a collaboration on a recording for the BMG label with the Catalan soprano.

Josep Miquel Ramon (Toni) The quartet of protagonists is completed. As a member of the groups II Seminario Musicale of Gerard Lesne and La Capella Real de Catalunya of Jordi Savall, the baritone from Alboraia has performed in the most prestigious European festivals and auditoriums, in addition to making several recordings.

He has been a guest conductor with major Spanish symphony orchestras, and has collaborated with international ensembles such as the Israel, Los Angeles, and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the orchestras of Santa Cecilia di Roma and RAI Turin. He has been conducted by, among others, Harry Christophers, Plácido Domingo, René Jacobs, Robert King, Neville Marriner, and Andrew Parrot.

The performer boasts a vast repertoire of opera and oratorio music. Among others, he has participated in festivals such as the Santo Domingo International Music Festival and the Cervantino International Festival. Frühbeck de Burgos conducted him on a tour of the United States and Israel in Falla's La vida breve .

The cast of Maror , by Manuel Palau, is completed with the solo voices of María Luisa Corbacho (Anna), Cristina Faus (Maria), Boro Giner (Sailor) and José Enrique Requena (Inner Voice).

Manuel Palau

According to the Valencian musician and educator Salvador Seguí, the music of Maror was written by Palau between 1953 and 1956, during a period of creative fulfillment and is therefore his crowning achievement, as well as the greatest lyrical contribution of his creative work.

Manuel Palau (1893-1967), awarded the National Music Prize in 1927 and 1945, was the first Valencian composer to join the new creative trends that, in the field of music, were arriving in Spain from other parts of Europe, particularly from Paris and Vienna, as Seguí emphasized.

The catalog of compositions he left behind is over 400 titles, spread across different genres, types and musical forms, both vocal and instrumental.

Despite his privileged position in the national music scene, Palau always maintained a connection with the people, the land and the culture of Valencia.

The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía has scheduled three performances of Maror . In addition to the opening night on April 24, this new production can be seen at the Valencian arts center on the 27th and 30th of that same month.