Over 50 students of Tenerife and Gran Canaria take part in construction of scenery elements
The Auditorio de Tenerife enabled students from three regional educational centres to help construct scenery elements for next month’s opera, Roméo et Juliette. Tenerife Island Councillor for Cultural Affairs, José Carlos Acha, recently visited the facilities of the two islands’ schools that have participated in the project: the IES La Orotava-Manuel González Pérez and IES Mencey Acaymo in Güímar.
In secondary school, IES La Orotava, together with teacher Jonathan Garabote and other schools, collaborated with Ópera de Tenerife on this project. Students from IES La Orotava (north Tenerife), IES Mencey Acaymo (Güímar), and CIFP Tony Gallardo (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) participated.
At IES La Orotava, Acha met with Jonathan Garabote, students, director Nieves Rodríguez, and wood and furniture instructors Miguel Ángel Arteaga and Javier Barrera. At IES Güímar, IES Mencey Acaymo’s secretary, Edgard Hernández, and carpentry instructors, Jaime García de Haro and Elena Rupérez, detailed the participants’ process in this training initiative.
José Carlos Acha expressed appreciation for the dedication and craftsmanship of the intermediate- and higher-level design and furnishing students of La Orotava, the basic- and intermediate-level carpentry and furniture students of IES Mencey Acaymo, and the design and furnishing students of CIFP Tony Gallardo. The councillor stated, ‘This project demonstrates the focus of Tenerife Island Council—through the Auditorio de Tenerife—on enabling our youth to take part in the array of opportunities offered by the council’s artistic departments.’ He acknowledged that these initiatives not only provide training but also create future opportunities.
Acha noted that the Auditorio de Tenerife is the archipelago’s leading production centre. Thus, he believes that ‘these students will gain significant motivation to continue their training by contributing visibly to an international production.’
The schools have taken on the responsibility for decorative fretwork in marine plywood to be used as scenery in an upcoming production of Roméo et Juliette. This work involves the manufacturing of decorative fretwork for aesthetic and ornamental purposes, the finer details of which require extreme precision and clear definition. They are organised into groups and distinct functional layers, designed to be superimposed and assembled in accordance with the sizes, amounts, and shapes defined in the technical specifications provided.
Fretwork was manufactured using CNC (computer numerical control) machining with specialised machinery available at the school’s workshops. This manufacturing system allows extremely precise transfer of digital designs to physical objects, thus ensuring precise adherence to measurements, repeatability and a quality finish.