Opera National de Paris (La Traviata, Guiseppe Verdi is in the program of the evening) will visit Andorra (Pyrenees) on June 17.
Traviata opera will be executed by Francesco Demuro (tenor) and Diana Damrau (soprano). The director is Benot Jacque. “Traviata” (from Italian “fallen”, “vagabond”) is the opera after the novel of A. Dumas “The Lady of the Camellias”. “Traviata” was first performed in 1853 at the Opera Theatre of Venice. The selection of main heroine was far from being typical for that time, it is a courtesan that dies because of terminal sickness. By analogue with “Rigoletto ” and “Trouveur”, Verdi puts in the center of attention the personage, repulsed by the society.
Opera National de Paris (France) is one of the most popular opera and ballet theatres in the world. For many years it was known as Opéra de Paris, until Opera Bastille was opened in 1989 at the cognominal square. After that the opera house was called Palais Garnier in honor of its founder. The 2009 the world-know production director Nikolas Joel heads the theatre.
In a week, on June 24, the place will be given to Royal Opera House (Manon Lescaut, Puccini is in the program of the evening). The opera will be executed by : Christopher Maltman (tenor) and Christine Opolais (soprano). The director is Jonathan Kent. The full name of Prevost abbot writing that made the basis of the opera is “Histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut”. This work is considered to be one of first psychological novels. The image of Manon Lescaut is one of the key characters of European literature, a certain prototype that will later on become the source of inspiration for the authors that would strive to develop the topic of fatal intangibility and pernicious temptation of female nature.
Royal Opera House is the opera theatre that is widely known as Covent Garden. The first opera was staged in 1735. From 2011 one of the most successful opera houses is headed by Kasper Holten from Denmark. He is obsessed with the idea to attract young people to the theatre and show them the magnificent world of opera.
Mariinsky Theatre (Saint Petersburg, Russia) will come to Andorra on July 14 with La Bayadere ballet, Minkus. La Bayadere will be performed by Oxana Skorik (Nikia), Ekaterina Osmolkina (Gamzatti) and Vadim Muntagirov (Solor). The conductor is Boris Gruzin. The word “Bayadere” means Indian dancer that performs ritual dances at temples. In India they are called “devadasi”, from Sanskrit “the slave of God”–usually unfortunate girls, unloved and unwanted, that were taken to a temple by their parents for the sake of paying the debt to God. In Europe such dancers were called “Bayadere”.
Mariinski Theatre is widely known not only in Russia but in the whole ballet and opera world. The Theatre starts its history from 1783 when Catherine the Great founded Great Big Theater, located in the building that further on was reconstructed into St.-Petersburg Conservatory. It was included in the list of Russian Emperor’s theatres. The story of the ballet troop started from court performances, participated by professional dancers prepared by the Dancing School that was founded in accordance to the order of Anna Ioannovna in 1738 and headed by French tutor Jean Baptist Landé. The art director of Mariinski Theatre is Valery Gergiev, the eminent cultural luminary of the global level. In 1988 he took the position of the main conductor, from 1996 he is occupying the position of art director.
The program will be finalized by Teatro Antico di Taormina. Cavaleria Rusticana (Pagliacci) is in the program of the evening. The opera will be executed by Fabio Armiliato (tenor) and Daniela Dessi (soprano). The director is Luiz Fernando Malhiero. Cavaleria Rusticana (Pietro Mascagni’s) and Pagliacci (Ruggero Leoncavallo’s) is an outstanding symbiosis of two operas that were composed for further “competition”. Though such works rarely attain good commercial results, these two were of great success and have been performed for more than a century. In fact, Pagliacci’s, used as the introduction , is considered to be the preamble to both parts. Rusticana Cavalleria marks the beginning of huge phase of Italian opera—opera verismo—the stories about the life in provinces. Both works inverted the perception of elite side of Italian opera, proving that mandain life may be of no less interest.
Teatro Antico di Taormina is one of the most famous ruins and is one of the most beautiful places of Sicilia. Greek theatre in Taormina was built in III century B.C. But Roman perception of art differed from the Greek one; in the first century of A.D. the theatre was reconstructed for fence plays. Nowadays Taormina is famous for its art festivals (“Taormina Arte”): film, music and dancing ones.
The price of tickets for all performances is 15 euro. 20% discount is given to the group of more than 4 persons.
See also Andorra travel guide
See also Pyrenees travel guide