The Peralada Festival broadens its scope: from Jordi Savall to Oriol Pla's 'debut'

BarcelonaThe fortieth edition of the Festival Peralada will continue to be a concentrated version of lyric and dance, but will also broaden its horizons with new creations and site-specific shows. As in recent years, the festival will take place from July 17 to August 9 in various spaces within the Peralada Castle grounds. The Reger Suqué family has announced that the younger generations will continue to support the festival, and in future editions, the event will once again be held in its iconic gardens, despite the fact that the large auditorium that was planned has not been built "for governance reasons," according to director Oriol Aguilà. "We are working on an alternative project," he announced, and celebrated the family's "generosity."

The backbone of the Alt Empordà festival is lyric opera, and it will not fail to feature great opera voices, starting with the opening with soprano Ermonela Jaho and tenor Benjamin Bernheim – which "will be a real delicacy," promises Oriol Aguilà – and continuing with Bryn Terfel, who returns after more than thirty years of not performing in Peralada, accompanied by Hannah Stone on harp and Annabel Thwaite on piano, with a repertoire of Schubert, Schumann, and Debussy that will culminate with Wolfram's aria from Tannhäuser (July 25). Soprano Sara Blanch – ten years after being a resident artist – and tenor Michael Spyres will also perform at the festival in a recital focused on bel canto (August 8).

One of the most notable premieres will be that of Diario di una madre

One of the most notable premieres will be that of the New creation

"The commitment to new creation will gain more prominence", warned Aguilá. And this is evident in special anniversary proposals like Joan Anton Rechi's scenogastronomic experience (July 18th), which will pair artists like choreographer Botis Seva, winner of the Carmen Mateu dance prize, with the dishes of chef Paco Pérez. The show by dancer Lorena Nogal will also be revived, who will perform at sunset in the winery designed by RCR with a site-specific titled Le terroir.

The expanded version of the micro-opera project Oh!pera from the Gran Teatre del Liceu will also be shown. The show is titled Esthetics and Massacre, and is composed by Carles Prat, with a libretto by Carlota Gurt, and is composed by Carles Prat, with libretto by A year of anniversaries

The Perelada Festival will be the place to commemorate many anniversaries. The Fortuny Trio will perform, celebrating their tenth anniversary. They will premiere Ronde, by Francesc Prat, and will feature Judit Neddermann as a guest (August 5). Sílvia Pérez Cruz from Empordà will celebrate 30 years of career with a double concert to present her new album (July 29 and 30). A tribute will also be paid to the great organist Montserrat Torrent on the centenary of her birth, which will incorporate the organ into the festival for the first time, and an organ will even be placed in the church of El Carme. Torrent will perform, as will organists Paolo Oreni and Joan Seguí, and the festival has also commissioned two new pieces from Bernat Vivancos and Raquel García-Tomás (August 6). “I gave her the piece for Reyes, because she was hospitalized and I wanted her to have it –says Vivancos–. It is a contemplative work on motifs from the Virolai. It's the first time someone 100 years old has played a piece for me. And she asked me not to make the feet too complicated!” El Celler de Can Roca will also dedicate a bonbon to her, which the organist has confessed are her mid-morning secret after rehearsing from 5 in the morning.

Another of the major events will be the performance by Jordi Savall –who will turn 85 on August 1– and Núria Rial, who will exceptionally close the festival with an Italian Baroque program with Les Musiciennes du Concert des Nations (August 9). The off-site closing will be the visit of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, which will go to the Palau de la Música because Perelada does not have a large space, under the direction of Pablo Heras-Casado (August 29).

A campus for young people

Also, ten years of Campus Perelada are being celebrated, "the most relevant and transformative project carried out by the festival team to discover, claim, and propose original voices from Alt Empordà", states Aguilá. For this reason, this year they have decided to turn this campus into an opportunity for students to share a premiere with professionals, dancers from the Hamburg Ballet, and the musician Arnau Obiols. The dancer and choreographer Aleix Martínez, "a giant of dance with the same great humanity", according to the director, directs the show Niu (July 28). Also in dance, the baroque music and urban dance show 4 danced seasons will be performed, a new interpretation of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with musical direction by Julien Chauvin leading Le Concert de la Loge and choreography by Mourad Merzouki (August 1-2).

The festival will also feature a historical exhibition, a film series at Verdi, and an interdisciplinary dialogue series. Tickets go on sale on Thursday, April 30, and range from 25 to 120 euros.