PICK OF THE WEEK: Andorra (Pyrenees)
Main places:
Andorra la Vella, Escaldes-Engordany, San Julia de Loria, La Massana, Ordino, Encamp, Canillo, Pas de la Casa
PICK OF THE WEEK: Monday, 22nd October – Sunday, 28th October, 2018
OPERA DIRECT
Sunday, 28th October at 18h at the Cinemes Illa Carlemany, Escaldes-Engordany, Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre. Directed by Keith Warner. (The performance lasts 4 hours 50 minutes with two intervals. One of the added joys of Opera Direct are the fascinating, behind-the-scenes interviews during the intermissions.)
The Story: during a storm, Sieglinde gives shelter to a wounded stranger. They find themselves drawn to each other. He is Siegmund, the twin from whom Sieglinde was separated in childhood. Unknown to them, their father is Wotan, the most powerful of the gods. Through Siegmund, Wotan hopes to retrieve a gold ring of ultimate power that he cannot take himself. Brother and sister fall in love and flee, taking with them Nothung, a sword destined for a hero. As goddess of marriage, Wotan’s wife Fricka angrily demands Wotan must not protect his incestuous children to serve his own ends. Wotan bitterly concedes. However, Wotan’s daughter Brünnhilde, a Valkyrie, takes it on herself to save Siegmund. Wotan stops her, and Siegmund is killed in battle, his sword shattered. Brünnhilde does rescue Sieglinde, who she knows is pregnant with Siegmund’s son, the hero Wotan requires. As punishment for defying him, Wotan incarcerates Brünnhilde in a deep sleep on a mountaintop, protected by magic fire. Die Walküre is the second work and ‘first evening’ of Richard Wagner’s four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen, following Das Rheingold. It has become the most performed opera of the cycle, loved and admired for its nuanced and intelligent exploration of complex family entanglements, expressed through music of astonishing power – perhaps nowhere more so than in the glorious music for the incestuous lovers Siegmund and Sieglinde.
Wotan’s voyage of self-discovery and ultimate resignation are at the heart of Keith Warner’s production, created for The Royal Opera in 2005. Wotan’s great Act II monologue is set in the abandoned former home of the gods, seen in Das Rheingold, whose evident disorder and damage present a striking representation of Wotan’s own inner decline and the gods’ incipient twilight. Recurring objects and visual motifs reflect the use of musical themes within Wagner’s score, which shows the composer at his most radical and most lyrical. Starring Keith Warner – director; Antonio Pappano – conductor; Siegmund – Stuart Skelton; Sieglinde – Emily Magee; Wotan – John Lundgren; Brünnhilde – Nina Stemme.
MUSIC
Saturday, 27th October at 17h in the Church of Sant Jaume de Ransol, Canillo. (Advanced booking Tel 753 624) Concert by the Picasso Quartet, four students from the Conservatori Superior del Liceu, Barcelona. Musicians: Carles Ramos Werner (violin); Georgina Muntadas Vera (violin); Guillem Bautista Novo (cello); Laura Jover Miñarro (viola). They will play music by J. Haydn, J Brahms, and D. Shostakovich.
Saturday, 27th October at 21h at the cafè teatre La Fada Ignorant, Andorra la Vella. Final of the songwriters’ competition FAFI d’Andorra. FINALISTS: Lia Sampai, El Mons a Cero, Roigé, Robert Poch, El Tren de la Musa, Xavi Perez Trrent, Quim Salvat, Miki Pereira, Pali, Rumband.
Sunday, 28th October at 21h at the cafè teatre La Fada Ignorant, Andorra la Vella. Awarding of prizes for the 2nd FAFI d’Andorra competition and a performance by Sergi Blanch, winner of last year’s competition.
MUSIC & DANCE
Saturday, 27th, October at 20h in the Lauredian Cultural and Congress Centre, Sant Julià de Lòria. Closing ceremony for the end of the 25th Anniversary year of the opening of the Lauredian Cultural and Congress Centre. The Cobla Catalana de Sons Essenciales (essential sounds). (Cobla is the name of a traditional Catalan orchestra that includes some unfamiliar instruments.) This training course led by Marcel Casellas brings together ten musicians and puts on stage all the instruments of the cobla with ethnic percussion and voice. Playing according to oral tradition, Mediterranean influences and some aspects of jazz, which are put to the service of the traditional genres such as counterpoint and sardana. This is the starting point of the fantasy of the cobla and its soloists, with a repertoire created especially for Marcel Casellas.
In 2017, on the occasion of the show Humour and dance, the Esbart Laurèdia folk dance group created a suite of choreographies with songs by Cobla de Sons Essencials. Through this, the components of each entity established ties that have resulted in the present show which includes the participation of the rest of the Lauredian cultural entities. L’Esbart will dance some of their pieces, and the musicians will accompany the Coral Rocafort, the choir of the Lírica Andorra Association and the Ball de Gegants, the legendary Dama Blanca and the Rei Moro (Moorish King).
DANCE
Saturday, 27th October at 23h at the Prat del Roure, Escaldes-Engordany. (7€, or free for members of Balland) An evening of ballroom dancing to the live strains of Dolce Vita.
THEATRE
Thursday, 25th October at 21:30h at the Cultural Centre, Sant Julià de Lòria. 53rd Theatre Season: Edmond (In French with the collaboration of the French Embassy. Tickets: Adults: 20€. Adults + MOS & THEATRE: 28€. School admission: 5€. School admission + MOS & THEATRE: 13€. Ticket sales at: the Cultural Centre www.santjulia.ad/interests.) Written & Directed by Alexis Michalik, the play was awarded 5 Molières, and tells the triumphant, and mythical, first performance of Cyrano de Bergerac. The twelve actors play an authentic troupe that reminds us of the great theatrical stages of the 19th century. Coinciding with the celebration of the centenary of the death of Edmond de Rostand, Edmond relates with humour and originality the writing of the most performed work in the French repertoire. It also establishes a lot of parallels between the society of Paris of the 19th century and that of the 20th century. Cast: Gauthier Battoue, Jacques Bourgaux, Eric Pucheu, Ary Gabison, Nathan Dunglas, Augustin Ruhabura, Eric Mariotto, Christophe Canard, Alice Allwright, Fannie Outeiro, Fabienne Galula and Catherine Arondel.
Friday, 26th October at 20h in the Armory of the Museum Casa Areny-Plandolit, Ordino. Últim estiu a Ordino (Last Summer in Ordino in Catalan). In the course of research, Joan Peruga found the correspondence of Sumpta, one of the daughters of one of Andorra’s most distinguished characters, Don Guillem d’Areny-Plandolit. This was the trigger that led him, in 1998, to publish his first novel Últim estiu a Ordino inspired by this family saga. Twenty years later it was performed for the first time, by the theatre company An-Danda-ra.
Friday, 26th October at 22h at the Auditorium of the Palau de Gel ice rink, Canillo. (Tickets 15€ or. for carnet jove and targeta magna, 12€. Show for people over 16 years old.) Els homes són de Mart i les dones de Venus (Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus in Catalan.) Unless you’ve lived in a cave in recent years, you’ve surely heard about the best-selling guide by John Gray, Men are from Mars and women from Venus, you might even be among the 50 million people who have read it. An instructive and hilarious work on the relationship between Martians and Venusians … We have to understand that the other does not work like us, he / she comes from another planet! Fortunately, everything has a solution, and you can find it, while spending a great time in this spectacle with the omnipresent actor Jordi Díaz.
CINEMA
Monday 22nd – Thursday, 27th October at 20h in the Cinemes Illa Carlemany, Escadles–Engordany. (For over 12s.) Slender Man. Directed by Sylvain White. Starring: Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair. The Story: In a small town in Massachusetts, a group of young friends, fascinated by the internet lore of the Slender Man, attempt to prove that he doesn’t actually exist – until one of them mysteriously goes missing. |
Wednesday, 24th October at 21:30h at La Llacuna Cultural Centre, Andorra la Vella. (5€ or 3€ if a member of the CineClub, or you hold a carnet jove or targeta magna.) Cicle de Cineclub: Lady Bird. Directed by Greta Gerwig, starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts.The Story: A young student who is called Lady Bird moves to northern California to take her last year of high school. The young woman has artistic inclinations and dreams of living on the coast. There she will try to find her own way and define herself outside the protective shadow of her mother (Screenings in subtitled VO. Not sure, this could mean it will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles… CA)
CHILDREN
Wednesday, 24th October at 18h in the Public Library Pas de la Casa. (Free registration must be made at the library reception before the 24th.) Junior Scrabble Championships in Catalan. On the occasion of International Library and Book Day, the championship will have two categories: ages 7 – 10 and 11 – 14. Regarding the prizes, the winners will receive lots of books as well as the original Scrabble game in Catalan. In addition, during the day, a second-hand book will be offered to all library users who either return or take out a book from the library.
Wednesday, 24th October at 18h in the Public Library, Sports Complex, Encamp. Children’s activity: “Story Bingo” in Catalan aimed at children, from six upwards, on International Library and Book Day. The activity consists of playing bingo using story characters known to children. There will also be prizes for the winners. And, throughout the day, a book will be presented to all library users who either return or take out a book from the library.
Saturday, 27th October at 11h in the University Public Library, Sant Julià de Lòria. (For infants 0 – 3-years-old. Places limited, pre-booking required. Tel. 744 044 or [email protected] ) Session Born to read. Madly led by Sandra Rossi. The Story: In the little fish tank, the red fish swims round and round. The fish tank is not big like the sea … Every day, the cat in the house watches the fish. The fish also watches the cat. The cat is getting closer each day to the fish tank until he opens his mouth. The mouth of the cat is huge … The fish is scared … And then he hears the voice of the cat that says to him: “I love you!” … And you? But the fish is not sure if he loves the cat …The Born to read course is a programme that promotes reading pleasure among children 0 to 3 years old. Many of the studies carried out corroborate this idea and show that to explain or read a story aloud from the first months of life:
– Strengthens the affective bond between parents and children.
– It favours the acquisition of linguistic competence.
– Powers the ability to observe, attend and concentrate.
– Stimulates imagination and creativity.
– Develops a taste for learning.
– Helps to establish a constant relationship between the child and the world around him.
SPORT & CHARITY
Sunday, 28th October starting at 11h from Trillà Parking, Andorra la Vella (next to the Pyrénées department store). 2018 Walk Against Cancer organised by ASSANDCA (Andorran Association Against Cancer) with the collaboration of the Jacqueline Pradère Foundation and Pyrénées. All benefits will be used to finance a large part of the activities and services offered by ASSANDCA. Get ready for the 2018 Walk against Cancer! A 3.7 km urban route suitable for all comers (the same route as was followed in the last edition), it will pass through the parishes of Escaldes-Engordany and Andorra la Vella. Registration is by voluntary donation and includes The T-shirt and a bottle of water at Customer Service on the fourth floor of Pyrénées. Here you can also buy a T-shirt in support of ASSANDCA without participating.
GASTRONOMIC REMINDER
Until Wednesday, 31st October at La Massana restaurants. 11th Gastronomic Days ‘La Massana Fogons’ (some of the menus are absolutely delicious CA) This year thirteen restaurants are participating in offering typical autumn dishes. This is a good opportunity to learn about high-mountain cuisine, which combines the most traditional recipes with the creative touch of each cook. The main feature is that the protagonists use autumn products: mushrooms, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, figs, apples, pomegranates, truffles … In the pamphlet that includes all the menus – pick one up from your local tourist office – all these autumn foods have been marked. This is one way to present the wealth and variety of vegetables and fruits found at this time of year. The abundance of mushrooms to be found in the woods, turns this into one of the star elements of the menus, with such proposals as mushrooms stuffed with green allioli and cream of vines with hazelnuts. The participating restaurants are: Borda Eular, La Torrada, Molí dels Fanals, Émo Hotel Palomé, Abba Xalet Suites Hotel, Hort de Casa, Angelo, Cal Silvino, Hostal Palanques, Borda Secreta, Borda de l’Avi, Borda Raubert and Chalet Hotel Montané. Menu prices vary between 24 and 35 euros and all include a first and a second course, with several options, plus a dessert.
Culturally yours,
Clare.
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Look for about the author of the blog Clare Allcard
See also Andorra travel guide
See also Pyrenees travel guide
See also France travel guide
See also Spain travel guide
