Redaccion
The LXXIII Lyric Season of Friends of the Opera of Coruña celebrates in this edition the 150th anniversary of the premiere of ‘Carmen’. It will be done with a spectacular production signed by Calixto Bieito, which will be seen at the Opera Palace on September 5 and 7, as announced by the president of the Friends of the Opera of Coruña Association, Natalia Lamas, during the presentation of the new program. The Councilor of Culture and Tourism, Gonzalo Castro, participated in this presentation and highlighted that "the repertoire of works that this event brings to the city every year is unique in the country."
At the event, held at the Teatro Colón, the artistic director of the Association, Aquiles Machado; the director of AGADIC, Jacobo Sutil, and Avia Veira, from the Deputación of Coruña, participated. Also present was the director of the Emalcsa Foundation, Bettina Kohlass. "From Inés Rey’s Government, we seek to bring the most select culture to the citizens, and one proof of this is our support for this program, of world-class level," added Castro.
Machado unveiled the complete program, which will begin on September 4 with a conference on ‘Carmen’ by Irene de Juan Bernabéu and will end on December 5 with the premiere in the city of ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ by Debussy.
Carmen
The first major event will be on September 5 with the performance of ‘Carmen’, in the year in which Bizet’s opera celebrates 150 years since its first staging. To celebrate this anniversary in A Coruña, it will be done with the production of Calixto Bieito, which arrives in the city after triumphing in major international theaters. An event that also marks the return of this title to the season after 19 years. At the same time, it is the return of a production by the renowned stage director, whose last work with Friends of the Opera was 23 years ago.
‘Carmen’ will be performed on September 5 and 7 at the Opera Palace. This staging will bring together nearly 100 artists on stage who will join the musicians of the Galician Symphony Orchestra under the musical direction of Gianluca Martinenghi.
In total, nearly 200 professionals will participate, with a cast led by Sofija Petrovic as Carmen; Brian Michael Moore as Don José, Jean-Fernand Setti as Escamillo, and María José Moreno returning to the Coruña season this time as Micaela.
The cast will be completed with Susana García as Frasquita; Irene Zas as Mercedes; Jacobo Rubianes in the role of Zuñiga and Pedro Martínez Tapia as Morais. Lle Dancaire will be played by Gabriel Alonso and Eduardo Pomares Sainz will play Remendar. Along with them, the Gaos and Cantabile choirs, under the direction of Fernando Briones and Pablo Carballido respectively, will complement the voices of the soloists.
La finta semplice
The month of September will continue with the conference prior to Mozart’s opera ‘La finta semplice’, which can be enjoyed on September 26 and 28 at the Teatro Colón, with a production by Friends of the Opera signed by Gianmaria Aliverta.
Giuseppe Sabbatini will be in charge of the musical direction of the Galician Symphony Orchestra. Anthony Webb will play Polidoro; Christian Pursell will be Cassandro, and Marina Zyatkova will be Ninetta. Diana Alexe will play Rosina, and Angela Schisano will play Giacinta. Caio Durán will perform the role of Fracasso and David Cervera as Simone.
On Thursday, September 25, the Afundación press room will host the prior conference related to this opera, which will be conducted by Julián Jesús Pérez.
Educational commitment
Once again, the Association is committed to the most didactic aspect, working to convey the magic of opera to students in Coruña and its surrounding area. In this edition, two double sessions have been organized, which will take place on October 21 and 22, with the participation of over 1,000 students at the Afundación Auditorium. Prior work will be done jointly in participating educational centers.
The educational work will also include the vocal interpretation course. Thus, from September 29 to October 3, a new edition of this event will take place, for the second year in a row led by baritone Carlos Álvarez. The registration period will start on June 25. The selected artists will have the opportunity to receive master classes from Maestro Álvarez, who will also share his life and professional experiences with them. The course will end with a free concert on October 4 at the Museum of Fine Arts.
The month will be completed with the performance of free concerts from the inclusive opera cycle. The first will be on the 10th with a performance by Rocío Muñoz at the Real Institución Benéfico Social Padre Rubinos (6:00 PM). On Friday the 17th, the ONCE headquarters will host a recital by Alexandra Zanfira (7:00 PM), and on the 24th, it will conclude with the participation of Marcelo Solís at the Monte Alto civic center. In all of them, they will be accompanied on the piano by the Coruñés Gabriel López.
Throughout the month of November, the season will continue with film screenings at the Galician Film Library. In this edition, enthusiasts will be able to enjoy screenings of ‘In the mood for love’ by Wong Kar-Wai and ‘Carmen’ by Francesco Rosi.
Also, at Afundación, operas ‘Les Pêcheurs de Perles’ by Georges Bizet; ‘Die Fledermaus’ by Johann Strauss, and the recital by Dietrich Fischer ‘Dieskau’ accompanied on the piano by Christoph Eschenbach will be screened.
Gala 2025: different, inclusive, and innovative
The 2025 lyric season will feature a gala that will take place on November 24 at the Teatro Colón and will be headlined by Venezuelan singer Samuel Mariño. The countertenor arrives in Galicia for the first time and, as Aquiles Machado assured, "will offer a fantastic chamber repertoire that we are sure will cultivate the applause of the audience."
In Coruña, we will have the opportunity to enjoy not only his voice but also a different, innovative, and applauded staging wherever he goes, pointed out the artistic director of the Coruña programming.
Closing with ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’
The LXXIII edition will be closed on December 5 with the opera ‘Pelléas et Mélisande’ at the Teatro Colón in Coruña. This will be the premiere of the only opera composed by Claude Debussy in the city of Coruña, in an event that will feature the main guest conductor of the Friends of the Opera Association, José Miguel Pérez Sierra, who will once again lead the Galician Symphony Orchestra.
On stage, the voices of Sabrina Gárdez, Edward Nelson, Yakov Strizhak, Igor Durlovski, Mónica Redondo, Belén Vaqueiro, and Javier Agudo will come together. Along with them, the male section of the Gaos Choir, directed by Fernando Briones.
Tickets and subscriptions for Friends of the Opera members can be picked up between June 12 and 18 at the entity’s offices, and sales for the general public will begin on June 20 through ataquilla.com and at the point of sale at Praza de Ourense.
