The Ópera de Tenerife season opens with four performances of this ‘sweet’ co-production with the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Auditorio de Tenerife opens its opera season with four performances of Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), bringing a colossal wedding cake to the Symphony Hall, with layers representing social classes to highlight the message of Mozart’s comic opera. The performances will take place this Sunday (11th), Tuesday (13th), Thursday (15th) and Saturday (17th). The details were provided by José Carlos Acha, Councillor for Culture, Museums and Sport at the Tenerife Island Council; José Luis Rivero, Artistic Director of the Auditorio de Tenerife; Pablo González, the opera’s musical director; and Marta Pazos, the stage director.
José Carlos Acha noted that this is “a co-production between the Auditorio de Tenerife and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, led by stage director Marta Pazos, who brings us an exciting production of a sumptuous opera – on this occasion, in every sense of the word”. The councillor reminded the Cabildo’s commitment to making culture accessible, noting that “standard tickets start at €30, with tickets for under-30s at €10, and there is still time to take out a season ticket for just €140 or €190, depending on the number of performances, and for just €35 for those under 30”.
José Luis Rivero described the joy of launching the subscription season, following the pre-season ‘Ópera en minúscula’. “We’re kicking off the season with ambition, enthusiasm and energy, and it’s a pleasure to begin this journey with our third co-production with the Liceu and our first with Pazos, with whom we’ve long wanted to collaborate.” Commenting on the production, he said, “This cake is a perfect metaphor for the pyramidal structure of social classes that Mozart spoke of, highlighting the misuse of power and how privilege is perpetuated – something that is also entirely relevant today.”
Pablo González, Principal Guest Conductor of the Sinfónica de Tenerife, expressed his gratitude “for making this Mozartian adventure possible with one of the greatest scores in the history of music”. “In this opera, Mozart’s genius converges with that of his librettist, Da Ponte, in a perfect symbiosis of music, theatre and action, and a text with an intrinsic musicality,” the conductor explained. The musical director of this production said he was “delighted to continue working with the Sinfónica de Tenerife and to make his debut at the Ópera de Tenerife, with a dedicated group of musicians who are thoroughly enjoying themselves, and a wonderful cast who feel very much like family”.
Director Marta Pazos confessed that “we are seeing the result of three years’ work. From the outset, the production was conceived for both theatres, which is why it works so well in this Symphony Hall”. “When we began working on this masterpiece, what I was aiming for was to recreate the impact it had on audiences when it premiered, because it was revolutionary; and as it is a comic opera, we focused on the unexpected – that’s where the laughter comes from,” she explained. The director was thinking about “class differences on a wedding day, and that’s where the idea of the wedding cake as a symbol came from: beautiful on the outside but capable of hiding wickedness within”. Pazos also spoke about the female characters in this opera, “who, far from being victims, are strong and powerful, and steer their own story through sisterhood”.
Singers Leonor Bonilla and Jan Antem spoke on behalf of the cast. The soprano recalled that “it has been 12 years since I first arrived at what I call the little opera house by the sea, and since then I’ve been back seven times – it’s always a pleasure”. Speaking about her role, Bonilla explained that “Susanna has an incredible storyline; she’s funny and modern… I’m absolutely fascinated by her!” Jan Antem first came to Ópera de Tenerife six years ago, “which opened many doors for me, and I’m very grateful”. Now, he is making his debut in the role of Figaro: “It’s a dream role for any baritone and I feel happy to be part of the best possible team – it’s like a family.”
Marta Pazos’s team comprises the assistant stage director Silvia Aurea De Stefano, set designer Max Glaenzel, lighting designer Nuno Meira, costume designer Agustín Petronio and choreographer Andreas Heise, with the Tenerife revival overseen by Rober Gómez, who is directing the dancers from the Tenerife International Dance Centre.
Among the soloists, whose costumes evoke pastries, Susanna will be played by the soprano Leonor Bonilla and Figaro will be performed by baritone Jan Antem, both of whom have long-standing ties with Ópera de Tenerife. Baritone José Antonio López will play the Count of Almaviva, while the countess will be sung by the Armenian soprano Lianna Haroutounian. Sopranist Rafael Quirant will play Cherubino.
The cast is rounded off by mezzo-soprano Léontine Maridat-Zimmerlin as Marcellina, bass Wojtek Gierlach as Bartolo, tenor David Barrera as Basilio, soprano Ruth González as Barbarina, bass Cristian Díaz as Antonio, tenor Alberto Ballesta as Don Curzio and soprano Arantxa Cooper as the first peasant woman.
The production is conducted by Pablo González, Principal Guest Conductor of the Sinfónica de Tenerife. In addition to the orchestra’s musicians, the programme will feature fortepianist Hana Lee and cellist Diego Pérez. The Ópera de Tenerife-Intermezzo Resident Choir will be conducted by Miguel Ángel Arqued.
This four-act opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, portrays the antagonism between social classes, masters and servants, and questions the privileges of the aristocracy. Considered one of the works that best reflect the complexity of the human condition, Le nozze di Figaro represents the high point of late 18th-century opera buffa.
Le nozze di Figaro was premiered in Vienna in 1786, and is based on the play La folle journée ou Le mariage de Figaro by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. It was the second part of a trilogy that began with Le barbier de Séville (adapted for the opera by Rossini) and concluded with La mère coupable. These works caused a huge scandal due to their explicit criticism of the aristocracy of the Ancien Régime. In Vienna, where Mozart lived, Beaumarchais’s play was banned, although the librettist convinced Emperor Joseph II that the opera did not insult the wealthy classes. Nevertheless, Mozart’s score contains subtle jibes at the aristocracy through the character of the Count of Almaviva.
The Cabildo is running another season of the ‘Lanzadera Ópera’, an initiative offering free transport on two TITSA buses, which will depart from Adeje and Buenavista, with the Auditorio de Tenerife as their destination for all performances included in the Ópera de Tenerife season ticket programme. Free tickets can be obtained at www.operadetenerife.com until 12.00 noon on the calendar day before the performance.
Ópera de Tenerife offers the Club Ópera season ticket, which costs either €140 or €190 depending on the number of performance days, and the Club Ópera Joven season ticket for those under 30, priced at €35. Membership of the club includes guaranteed admission to the seven operas in the season at a reduced price, as well as numerous benefits such as invitations to exclusive events, additional discounts and much more.
Tickets, priced from €30 for adults and €10 for those under 30, can be purchased on the website www.auditoriodetenerife.com, at the box office from Monday to Friday, 10.00–17.00, and on Saturdays, 10.00–14.00, and by telephone on 902 317 327 during the same hours. Discounts are available for, among others, those under 30, students, jobseekers and large families.
Ópera de Tenerife is an initiative of the Island Council – through the Auditorio de Tenerife – and is sponsored by the Canary Islands Institute for Cultural Development of the Government of the Canary Islands and the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) of the Government of Spain.