Andorra is betting heavily on opera: Angela Gheorghiu, Anna Netrebko and 'Lucia di Lammermoor'
The third edition of the Classical And festival, to be held in May, will feature the debut of the Russian soprano and a staged opera
Andorra la Vella (Andorra)This weekend, the Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu, who has had a glorious career on the main opera stages of the world, sang for the first time in Andorra. She did so at the National Auditorium of Ordino, with a recital of high-level arias and songs, accompanied by the pianist Alexandru Petrovici, within the framework of the Classical FestivalAnd.
Gheorghiu's recital has been scheduled as a prelude to the new edition of this Andorran performing arts festival, which this year is already in its third year and which will officially begin on May 3, with the great Russian diva Anna Netrebko as headliner. In this way, the performance of the Romanian soprano has served to start getting the public in the mountain country excited, who, thanks to the festival's commitment, can enjoy quality classical music proposals, without travelling to Barcelona or Toulouse.
About to celebrate her 60th birthday, Gheorghiu is a mature and experienced performer. Of course, her voice has lost polish in tone and luster in color, but she maintains an excellent taste for musicality, with a control of the breath admirable and some pianissimius really expressive. In addition, her proven knowledge of the repertoire is evident on every page, which she tackles with great ease and absolute control of the stage. In her debut in Andorra, the soprano has proposed a programme of well-known pieces, starting with lieds to warm up the engines, such as Stands, by Franz Schubert, giving way to opera arias, with a fabulous Habanera by Bizet and a striking fragment ofAdriana Lecouvreur. Then, after an intermission with solo piano works, such as the beautiful Träumerei After Schumann's opera, well executed by Petrovici, Ghoerghiu continued with very attractive songs by Tosti, Respighi, Puccini, Brediceanu and Curtis. Finally, with the entire audience on their feet, the euphoria gave way to up to four encores, among which there was no lack ofMy dear baby puccinian and Grenade, by Agustin Lara.
The first complete opera in the history of Andorra
Beyond this first appetizer, the ClàssicAnd programme will begin on May 3, with none other than the debut in Andorra of the famous diva Anna Netrebko, who will perform in a special tent in the central park of Andorra la Vella, accompanied by the pianist Pavel Nebolsin. "It is a dream for any festival to bring Netrebko; it was an objective we pursued since the first edition and we have achieved it," explains Joan Anton Rechi, artistic director of ClàssicAnd. The festival, with a budget of 900,000 euros, is run thanks to the public-private collaboration of the main Andorran administrations and both banks in this country, and offers affordable tickets (35 euros plus management fees for the most expensive ones).
The other big draw of the edition is the staged production of Lucia of Lammermoor, by Donizetti, on May 9, in what will be the first complete opera performance in the history of Andorra. The production, stage directed by Rechi himself, will feature the debut in the leading role of the soprano from San Sebastián Elena Sancho Pereg, accompanied by the Dresden Festival Orchestra, who will also perform solo the following day. Other important events at the festival include the presence of the chamber ensemble Modigliani Quartet, as well as the young Hong Kong pianist Tiffany Poon, well known on the networks. The programme is completed by the Maria Rovira dance company, a concert with mapping, the family show Ad Libitum and Miguel Poveda's final recital, on May 18.
