'La bohème' is the latest offering from the Tarragona opera house.
It will be performed at Camp de Mart on July 11 and 13 with Ainhoa Arteta in the cast.
TarragonaCamp de Mart will once again be the stage for DO Tarragona opera this summer, thanks to the support of the Friends of the Tarragona Lyric Theatre Association. Specifically, one of Giacomo Puccini's greatest works will be performed, The BohemianIt will be on July 11 and 13, as part of the Tarragona Summer Festival.
The 'alma mater The project's founder is the baritone from Tarragona, Àngel Òdena, who believes that "there are few venues in Tarragona like the Camp de Mart, with the walls of Tarragona illuminated in the background." "If we continue, we can be a reference in a few years," says Òdena, who each year extends some of the friendships he has made after more than three decades dedicated to the project. bel canto And this time he has been able to bring Ainhoa Arteta, one of the great names on the world opera scene, to the capital of Tarragona. The Bohemian once again features the Tarragona-born soprano Mireia Tarragó. This time, she will have a more prominent role, as she will perform one of the main roles in Puccini's opera, that of Musetta.
Also part of the cast is the Alicante-born tenor Antonio Gandía, who is considered one of the best young singers in Spain and who we already saw in Tarragona in the opera RigolettoCarlos Daza, Lluís Vergés, and Àngel Òdena himself are other names in the production. "It's important to give young people opportunities in leading roles," says the latter.
With musical direction by maestro Oliver Díaz, the production will feature the collaboration of the Camerata XXI Orchestra, the Tarragona Opera Choir, and the ATGN Dance School Ballet. Once again, students from the Institut Cal·lípolis will be in charge of makeup. The stage design will once again be in the hands of one of the state's leading figures in this field, Valencian Emilio López.
The Tarragona baritone believes that a small cultural industry is gradually being created in the region thanks to the production of these operas, which involve around 150 people. In the case of the heart, rehearsals already began on May 10, while the professional part will begin rehearsing ten days before the performance.
The project, now promoted by the Friends of the Lyric Theatre of Tarragona Association, began with the performance of Rigoletto, by Verdi,in July 2021 at the same Camp de Mart, organized then directly by the Tarragona City Council. After a one-year hiatus, it continued in the summer of 2023 with Tosca, by Puccini, at the Tarraco Arena. Last year he returned to the Camp de Mart with another Verdi opera, La Traviata, and this year a symbolic work by Puccini is being performed again, The Bohemian. In February, work began on heart screening tests to fill some positions, although a significant portion remains from previous years.
Singing course and competition
With the aim of contributing to the creation of this Tarragona music industry, the Friends of the Tarragona Lyric Theatre Association has launched the second edition of the Pau Vidal singing course. It will be held at the Vila-seca Conservatory from July 15 to 17, with a team of teachers consisting of Marta Matheu (acting) and Anna Maria Ollet (technical). The course will culminate with the final concert-competition at the Canonja Municipal Theatre on July 18. The winners will receive two paid concerts at the Teatret del Serrallo and as part of the Joventuts Musicals de Tarragona program, at the Teatre Tarragona.
Rehearsals begin
The first rehearsal of the 2025 season of the Tarragona Opera Choir was on May 10th under the direction of Miquel Massana. The core is made up of 45 people, and most have already participated in previous operas performed in Tarragona and come from various parts of the Camp de Tarragona musical area, but they are not professionals," explains Massana, who points out that in The Bohemian The heart has great weight in the second act and also in part of the third.
The Tarragona Opera Choir will extend rehearsals in the coming weeks, and on July 7th will join the stage rehearsals with the orchestra and the rest of the production's members. The children's choir, conducted by Anna Ollet, will also begin rehearsals later, on June 21st.
The work
The Bohemian It is an opera in four scenes by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) on the libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, on Scenes from bohemian life, by Henry Murger. It premiered in 1896 at the Teatro Regio in Turin. It belongs to the verismo movement and is its first exponent. Another opera of the same name premiered the following year, written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo and based on the same booklet. The Bohemian It takes place in Paris in 1830, with two young couples who live in poverty in an attic with many financial problems but with the illusion of youth.
The star
Ainhoa Arteta, born in Toulouse (Guipúzcoa) in 1964, is a Basque soprano who began her career in the 1990s and has established herself as one of the greats of the international artistic scene. She trained at the Francisco Escudero Conservatory in San Sebastián and studied acting at the Actors Studio in New York. She made her debut at the Palm Beach Opera (Florida) in 1990 as Corinda in The Cenerentola Rossini's. Highlights of his intense concert career include a recital at the White House, during Bill Clinton's official visit to Washington.
The 'alma mater'
At the helm of the four opera productions that have been seen in recent years in Tarragona is baritone Àngel Òdena. Born in Tarragona in 1968, he holds a degree in geography and history, but has never worked in this field due to his passion for singing. Òdena began his singing and piano training at the Tarragona Conservatory with Mercè Obiol and Maria Dolors Aldea and furthered his studies at the Accademia Lirica di Mantova, under the direction of Katia Ricciarelli and perfecting his skills with tenor Eduard Giménez. He made his debut in 1994 with The Bohemian at the Petruzzelli Theater in Bari.