Acclaimed Spanish soprano María Bayo performs on June 25, 2019, 730 pm, at the Hyundai Hall Areté, Ateneo de Manila University.
Bayo, who won the Spanish National Award for Music in 2009, will be accompanied on piano by French Maciej Pikulski.
The show offers the audience a rare opportunity to listen to songs by Spanish contemporary composers inspired by traditional music, as well as some zarzuela.
The concert in Metro Manila, organized by the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, the Instituto Cervantes and Areté. Before coming to Manila, Bayo performed in Beijing, Tokyo, and Jakarta.
“Acclaimed for the luminosity and clarity of her voice, for her technical virtuosity and her gifts for acting and expressiveness, for two decades María Bayo has been the most internationally renowned Spanish soprano,” the Instituto Cervantes said.
“She is considered one of the best performers in the world for feminine roles by Rossini and Mozart and has sung at the Teatro Real in Madrid, La Scala in Milan, the Staatsoper in Berlin, the Bastille and Palais Garnier in Paris, the Metropolitan Opera House in New York among many others.
“Chameleon-like and leaving no stone unturned with regard to music as well as acting,” it said María Bayo has an extremely wide repertoire which spans from Händel and Cavalli to Puccini, Debussy, Poulenc and Stravinsky.
Her interest in Spanish repertoire has also led her to record a large number of zarzuelas from all ages and revive many others that had been lost in obscurity, as well as operas and chamber music, collaborating with the most outstanding and respected conductors and directors of her generation.
“Her work to find the truth of a character and its psychological rough edges to then take it through her own voice to the stage or recording studio has earned her the highest acclaim in the world of music and culture,” the Instituto Cervantes said.
Pikulski is a soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist to leading singers, who has already performed in over 300 concert halls in five continents. The specialist music press has acclaimed Pikulski for his “poetic sensitivity” and “powerful technique,” praising him as a “magnificent musician” and “great pianist.”
He holds a professorship with tenure at the Centro Superior de Música in San Sebastian, Spain.
The program of the concert will include so-called “cultured songs,” such as songs from folk music that have been arranged with new, rich harmonies in line with the style of different 20th century composers.
The musical tradition that has inspired these compositions stems from Spain but has also made a round-trip to Latin America and thus, the works by Eduard Toldrá will bring us to the Mediterranean tradition whereas Xavier Montsalvatge’s will allow us to travel to the Antilles.
The program also includes songs by Óscar Esplá, Jesús García Leoz, Antoni Parera Fons, Antón García Abril, Astor Piazzolla.
Two zarzuela pieces will complete the concert: one by Cuban composer Gonzalo Roig and another by one of the best known zarzuela composers, Francisco Asenjo Barbieri.
The concert will take place at Areté, 7.30 pm on June 25, 2019. Tickets (Balcony: Php350; Orchestra: Php500) can be obtained directly from Areté or on-line through http://www.ticket2me.net.
For further information please visit Instituto Cervantes’ website (http://manila.cervantes.es) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila). INSTITUTO CERVANTES DE MANILA IMAGE
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