With the stage direction of Raúl Vázquez and under the baton of Salvador Vázquez, this Spanish opera classic concludes the lyric season of the Ópera de Tenerife in only one presentation this Saturday, June 29 in the Symphony Hall of the Auditorio de Tenerife. 

Ópera de Tenerife presents the last title of the lyrical season: El Gato Montés, by Manuel Penella, which will have a single performance this Saturday, June 29 at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorio de Tenerife and for which the tickets already sold out. The magisterial composition that narrates the exciting love triangle in an Andalusia will be under the direction of Salvador Vázquez, who makes his debut in the Ópera de Tenerife.

The insular director of Culture, José Luis Rivero, commented that “the absolute fullness of this function also responds to the impulse in the tickets of Opera de Tenerife, which we have already increased by 45%”. “This shows that the opera, the most complete scenic musical language, is more present, alive and open than ever,” explained the insular director, who said that “the public is responding to our projects in Ópera de Tenerife.”
For the stage director, Raúl Vázquez, “it’s a dream that a newcomer like me can take on stage with such a masterpiece like this one and it’s also an honor and a privilege, but above all a challenge”. “I wish every opera house valued ideas as does Ópera de Tenerife, giving opportunities to new people, looking for emotional rather than physical spaces.”

Salvador Vázquez will be placed for the first time at the head of the Tenerife Symphony for this title. “I will be eternally grateful to Ópera de Tenerife for this opportunity”, acknowledged the Malaga musical director, who has been working in the Auditorio de Tenerife for a month, in which “I have grown a lot with these great artists: they have a great jewel”. “This Spanish opera has continuous references to Andalusian music and you can recognize saetas, seguidillas and sevillanas, among others”, analyzed the teacher.

Mariola Cantarelo, with 20 years of career behind him, confesses that “in Tenerife I am at home, I am part of this family, where everything is lived very intensely”. The Spanish soprano says that “the whole cast gets along very well and that complicity is felt on stage, where we leave our soul in each performance”. “This role is a gift and that an Andalusian singer sing the role Soleá can provide that elf she needs and that I try to give”, reflects the singer, who shares that “we have worked a lot on a closed Andalusian accent”.

The tenor Gillen Munguía began his career as a singer on this island in Opera (e) Studio “and that has opened many doors for me and now he debuted with great artists whom I have always admired, such as Luis Cansino, whose performance I fell in love with. the lyric years ago, “says the young singer who plays Rafael Ruiz.
For Luis Cansino “culture is the basis of everything in our society.” This 32-year-old baritone explains that “there are excellent people here and in the end that’s the most important thing”. “I thank Ópera de Tenerife  for what they are doing, making this island a beacon in the lyric of this country,” said the singer, who plays the character that gives the name to this title: Juanillo el Gato Montés.

The proposal Ópera de Tenerife has the voices of Mariola Cantarero [Soleá]; Sandra Ferrández [Gitana]; Marina Pardo [Frasquita]; Tairuma Méndez [Loliya]; Luis Cansino [Juanillo, the Wildcat]; Gillen Munguía[Rafael Ruiz, the Macareno]; Alberto Camón [Father Antón]; Axier Sánchez [Concrete]; Borja Molina [Caireles and Pezuño]; Néstor Suárez [Recalcao]; Galilea Arias [Pastorcillo]; Joniker Brito [Seller] and Juan Carlos Afonso [Alguacilillo].

The scenery of Carlos Santos poses the oppression of the world in which Soleá is involved. In this way, you will see a large closed box, representing the male world of Rafael, encorsetando the female figure of the protagonist, represented by a large central revolving. In this unique space, of “indeterminate” place and time, there will be elements out of scale, such as the great central gate, which will act as a gateway to and exit from this inner world, through which the characters and elements that interfere with the protagonist will enter. they will move us from one act to another.

Through the costume of Massimo Carlotto, he has searched for much more refined and stylized lines so as not to fall into Andalusian clichés without losing the essence of the characteristics of regional folklore. A starting point that is inspired by the singular, sensual and fatalistic vision of the painter Julio Romero de Torres.

The story of El Gato Montés, this popular opera in three acts, with a libretto by Manuel Penella Moreno, inspired during a journey by the composer through Andalusian lands and premiered at the Teatro Principal in Valencia in 1916, narrates the rivalry between the bullfighter Rafael Ruiz, the Macareno, and the bandolero Juanillo, known as the Gato Montés, for the love of a gypsy, Soleá. Masterpiece of the genre, considered the greatest exponent of the popular Spanish lyric melodies of the time, contains the famous pasodoble ‘Torero quiero ser’, where all the topics of Spanishism are collected with strong dyes of magical andalucismo.