The Dragon Caves celebrate the 10th anniversary of underground solidarity opera this Saturday

ManacorThe Caves of Drach will once again host a top-quality opera night. The Lake Martel amphitheater, the spectacular underground auditorium, is set to welcome 550 people for what will be the 10th anniversary of the annual show. For this occasion, the organizer of the evening, Toni Font, once again trusts the trio formed by soprano Marga Cloquell, pianist Jesús López Blanco, and actor and narrator Toni Gomila.

"This year will be special, for artistic reasons and because we want to celebrate this decade of opera in the Caves", explains Font, who recalls that it actually all began 15 years ago in the church of El Carme in Portocristo. Five years before things got bigger and the space and the venue became insufficient for the proposal, which would later be accepted by Maties Servera and moved to the Caves, "taking advantage of the budget that until then they allocated to pay for the fireworks of the summer festivals".

The first proposals featured the emblematic pianist from Manacor, Andreu Riera. Annually, there is a need to adapt one of the best universal operas, which must be cut from the original two or three hours "with scissors, so that it is approximately one hour long," recalls Marga Cloquell, who explains the format for this occasion: "It will be called Tutto Opera, and it will have pieces from the most iconic ones, but without losing quality, quite the opposite." In fact, this time it will be the first in which a 12-voice choir directed by Lidia Fernández will be included, with the incorporation of tenor Airam Hernández.

100% of the proceeds for Aproscom

Following tradition, this year the entrance fee (which costs 20 euros and can be purchased at Gomila pharmacy and Comercial Colau in Portocristo, at Maria Jaume pharmacy in Manacor, and at Casa Martí in Palma) is entirely destined for the Aproscom Foundation, which annually serves over 1,100 users annually in the Llevant region. The president, Pedro Sunyer, and the director, Toni Gaià, have thanked for the initiative and for thinking of the Manacor entity.