A Prospero for eternity

PalmWatching Shakespeare is like listening to Bach, both always inhabit another dimension. On the other hand, watching The storm, The last work the bard wrote and signed on his own, makes the possibilities of enjoyment increase exponentially. The fact that it's in the Biblioteca de Catalunya, where Oriol Broggi practices white magic with top-quality ingredients, almost guarantees the above. To top it all off, if Lluís Soler is in charge of bringing Prospero to life, no one can avoid the consequences of the spell's emanations. That said, and without getting into the details The storm Whether it's a testamentary piece or a declaration of intent, what is clear is that it contains all the traits and virtues of someone without equal. The characters, circumstantial inhabitants of an island that is also a universe, make up a precise kaleidoscope of the human condition. If, as Broggi says, the play speaks of forgiveness and reconciliation, it is still a miscellany in which we can find everything from revenge to ambition, from scoundrels to fools, where no one is perfect. Or perhaps just Miranda, played by Elena Tarrats, and her lover, Ferran, embodied by Eduard Paredes, surely or simply because they are still too young, still tender.

Broggi is faithful to Shakespeare, as he is also to his master, Peter Brook, with his unforgettable version of the play at hand. Broggi's interpretations of the play are limited to what is written in the original, although there is the possibility of a contemporary translation in time and space, as Irina Brook did in the paternal temple of Les bouffes du Nord, but that is a different story. Broggi's choice is a confirmation of Shakespeare's grandeur and timelessness, no matter how the protagonists are dressed. Lluís Soler makes a sublime Prospero, humane despite his alchemical abilities, capable of conceiving a stormy retaliation and finally, once his goal is achieved, forgiving without exception, regardless of the magnitude of the offense. Babou Cham is Ariel, a credible spirit of the air, all veneration, more out of gratitude than conviction, while Jacob Torres makes a very suitable demon Caliban, both in the service of an implacable Prospero. The rest, Xavier Ripoll, Oriol Ruiz Coll, and Ramon Vila, play different characters with equal effectiveness, while Marc Serra's guitar plays in the background. What would La Perla be without Serra's music? Surely something else. Nor can we forget the lighting, by Gina Moliné, which provides the right atmosphere for each and every moment, capped off with the final phrase that questions everything: "We are the stuff dreams are made of," Soler concludes, a Prospero for eternity.