Gianna Fratta will be in charge of conducting on November 5th and 6th, at the Auditorium in Palma and the Auditorium in Manacor, the second concert of the season of the Balearic Islands Symphony Orchestra. A pianist, conductor, and law graduate, she will lead the orchestra with a program with a Spanish accent, which will begin with the Concierto de Aranjuez, by Joaquín Rodrigo, with José María Gallardo del Rey as soloist. Next, a piece by Gallardo del Rey himself, Diamantes para Aranjuez. In the second part, by Maurice Ravel, they will perform Alborada del gracioso, with clear Hispanic reminiscences. To conclude, there will be a selection from the Suite española, by Isaac Albéniz.

The Principal Theatre of Palma has kicked off the 41st Opera Season with a Faust, by Charles Gounod, which recovers the original version, that is, the one that was performed for the first time at the Parisian Théâtre Lyrique, in an opéra comique version, with spoken dialogue. When it made the leap to the Opéra de Paris, they did not allow this circumstance, so Gounod had some dialogues cut and others converted into recitatives. Surely, few people in the audience had seen the version we are dealing with, and there must have been some surprises. In any case, it is clear that it is an added value. Likewise, it is a co-production between the Opéra de Lille, the Opéra-Comique de Paris, and the Palazetto Bru Zane-Centre de musique romantique française, in Venice. The provenance is once again a success in terms of quality. And so it was. Stylish and with great class, Denis Podalydès' staging presented careful lighting that enhances all the situations that the story generates, with the corresponding changes of location, which arise with fluidity and without interruption, although if there were any between the first three acts, which last two hours, it would not be bad either. It is clear, however, that part of the scenographic magic would be lost. Everything has a price.

Literal, by Xavier Uriz, directed by Sergio Baos and starring Baos himself, Marga López, and Laura Morónez, with the musical collaboration of Miquel Femenias on drums, is a parodic comedy with a metaphysical background. Calling the context interesting is an understatement. It ranges from the problems of a Philosophy professor in the first quarter of the 21st century facing his teenage students, to the consequences of this generational gap. Among them, and I believe he leaves none untouched, are his marriage, through which he explores couple conflict, the universal and timeless struggle between parents and children—father and daughter in this case—, feminism with all its branches and aspects, contemporary art, which does not come off very well, the non-existent intergenerational respect, the exponential increase of the far-right among young generations, and that of some boomer who is nostalgic and wants unconditional recognition for his hypothetical values, which, on the other hand, he does not even know who or what they are, or even the protagonist's intestinal problems as a connecting link, as a common thread, among them all, with Nietzsche or Kant as a MacGuffin for the resolution of them all.

Twenty-nine editions of Teatre de Barra are many, almost very many. Therefore, it deserves that the sequence number goes in capital letters, but it also happens that day after day they fill to the brim the chairs that surround the counters of the different venues where the different stories unfold. Stories that for the occasion speak of the eighties, and it must be said that a high percentage of regular spectators of the event were already there. Five plays five.

Puccini's Manon Lescaut promised to be extraordinary: firstly, for being the opera that inaugurated the Teatro Real season; secondly, for its secular silence at the 'Foro' and, finally, for a star like Sondra Radvanovsky at the helm of the performance. It remained, only, as a "not bad," but, above all, as "much room for improvement." Surely, the person most responsible for this 'highs and lows' was the artistic director of the co-production with the Oper Köln, Carlos Wagner. Not so much for a staging that turns out to be more aesthetic than functional, as for a direction of actors that meant nothing held together with a minimum of solidity; not for the imposture in every gesture, which also, but for a childish conception of the characters. Against the Venezuelan Wagner, Nicola Luisotti fought with his effective and silent instrument. So much so that the greatest applause of the evening was for him and the Teatro Real orchestra just after performing the famous Intermezzo, which they have moved from the beginning of the third act to the start of the fourth, with a projection of the vast sea as a visual element with which to bear witness to the journey that Des Grieux and Manon take towards their desert and North American destiny. This magical moment caused a packed-to-the-rafters Teatro Real to erupt, which seemed to be to unleash the audience's desire to applaud, which had been meager, and those that did emerge, a little too subdued.

It is difficult to write about a concert that was not one as such. The second ‘concert’ of the monograph malherian it became a syncopated reading, or something similar, of Alma Mahler's memoirs. Paragraphs that did not contextualize the music that followed nor contributed anything interesting about either composer, except for the moment where it tells how Mahler forbade Alma from composing again. Although, without clarifying that he later rectified it, nor why he did so, which would have become a Sálvame deluxe in D minor. In any case, if tempo is a fundamental pillar of a composition, someone did not measure it at all. Furthermore, the tedious talk, read in fits and starts, was not in the program, just as there was no mention of the name of the person who became the protagonist of an evening that could have been a good concert. It was already surprising that it began with the reading of a text that did not fit with what would follow, by the string quartet and piano formed by Fabiola Tedesco (violin), King Wojdalska (viola), Zuzanna Sosnowska (cello) and Magí Garcías, at the piano. Promising was the first intervention of the ensemble with the interpretation of the only movement of the Piano quartet in A minor, by Gustav Mahler. A true example of the powerful solidity with which the group exhibited the essential cohesion to be able to enjoy so many and such solid elements in perfect harmony. It is proof that Mahler is very much Mahler, despite being only as a test, as a sketch from when he began his studies at the conservatory.Just after, another philippic arrived, in an exercise of coherence as decontextualized as the previous one, which gave way to the mezzo-soprano Begoña Gómez to perform two Lieder by Alma and two others by Gustav: Die stille Stadt and Bei dir ist es traut, by the former, and Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen and Es sungen drei Engel einen süßen Gesang by the latter. Impeccableperformance, colorful, with volume and consistency, well accompanied by Magí Garcías. We could say it was a brilliant moment, characteristic of the mezzo's voice, if between one Lied and the other, which have a duration of more or less two minutes, they had not included the corresponding bore, of much longer duration, eternal, which eliminated and dynamited any possibility of properly enjoying the subtle compositions.The ‘concert-reading’ concluded with the performance of the Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25, by Johannes Brahms. Forty magical minutes, without words, a mirage. The quartet once again showed its excellences, which were not few, but overlapped by a structure that did not hold up. It was not that.

The Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, led by its principal conductor, Sir Mark Elder, was responsible for setting off the grand finale of the fireworks display that marked the latest edition of the Pollença Festival. Sixty-five editions stand testament to it, and its momentum only serves to enhance its legend. The full capacity of each and every one of the seven concerts that made up the program could serve as a sufficiently eloquent summary of what it has been, with this festive closing of a magnitude that merely anticipates the next edition.

The Orquestra de Cambra de Mallorca seems, for a long time, since the day it was born, that growing is part of its character, of its DNA. The latest test by fire is, without a doubt, the challenge of facing Gustav Mahler in the monographs that each year they dedicate to a composer, behind the Pollença Festival and in the same enclave. But this is another story that we will have time to talk about, but which in some way has to do with the concert with which Bellver Castle rounded off the summer season. A farewell, on the one hand, and a presentation card, on the other. A great prelude and a program that to call demanding is an understatement, a great understatement.

Second to last concert of an edition, by Muffati-Brussels Baroque Orchestra, until then immaculate and with one of the concerts that for some was almost the cherry on top of a magnificent cake. An evening entirely dedicated to the one who was everything, Johann Sebastian Bach, with a tasty and rich program, like a small great demonstration of the undisputed condition of the great capoper of music history. For example, with the first piece, the "Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major BWV 1050, which treasuresa first majestic and original movement, the impeccable combination of the different solo instruments, harpsichord, flute, and violin crowned by an innovative sixty-four-bar cadence by the harpsichord, which until that moment in history only served as a fundamental but not very ostentatious basso continuo. Only with this Allegro initially we had enough ingredients to enjoy thoroughly. It wasn't like that. Just when it had barely started, a gust of wind blew away Frank Theuns's sheet music and perhaps here the elements allied against any possibility of enjoyment. Hope was placed in the cadence, but not even that. Violaine Cochard, at the height of her performance, seemed to be chasing the notes as if it were an obstacle race to align them with those coming from the original; a task that was almost impossible without the adequate (over)dose of virtuosity. It is easy to imagine that it was not simple to sort out the mess.

Pollença, the festival, is experiencing a time of monographic tributes. It was the case with the Ébène Quartet's dedication to Ludwig van Beethoven. It will be the case with Les Muffati-Brussels Baroque Orchestra's tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach. And it was the case with the Freiburger Barokorchester's performance on Saturday, exclusively featuring pieces by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Three composers who share a common denominator: they are unfathomable. One could dedicate infinite monographic concerts to any of them and they would never cease to be of maximum interest. The one we are concerned with is not an exception, but rather a small, great selection that demonstrates the versatility of someone who made music almost unintentionally. Thus, the chamber orchestra, with twenty-four musicians, conducted by Éva Borhl on violin, began the task with the overture of The gardener's trick, early work, simple, with a lot of rhythm and prioritizing melody, where a gem arises from almost nothing. It was a prelude that in some way became a declaration of principles of what the concert would be, in which, once again, the cloister of Sant Domingo presented an unbeatable appearance, or what is the same, a full house.

Continue the tradition. The Pollença Festival, more orchestral than ever this year, has once again incorporated the presence of the Balearic Islands Symphony Orchestra into its programming. It is the golden culmination of a always dense season, like a well-deserved gift of prestige. The occasion featured the direction of Patrick Hahn and the cellist Alban Gerhardt as soloist performing the "Cello Concerto in E minor Op. 85 by Edward Elgar. A mature work, his last orchestral piece, like a testament, that of an old and ill man who is figuring out the end of his existence and wants to explain his state with this intense and painful cry. Not a hint of enthusiasm from the initial lament of the solo instrument, which does nothing but foreshadow and confirm all that will follow, when the violas accompany him on this first, somber, and deep walk. A moderato adagio. Alban Gerhardt, a great protagonist, managed to draw out the immense melodic richness the composition holds from his instrument, with a very introspective reading that, in some way, brought fidelity to the spirit of the original. Patrick Hahn, the young Austrian conductor, on the one hand, and the Symphony, on the other, offered the essential balance and circumspection to achieve the ideal equilibrium of a score that concentrates beauty and sadness in equal measure. With a Prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach, Alban Gerhardt acted as if he had finished his performance.It wasn't like that. A detail that honors him, and it is not small. Significant. Alban Gerhardt joined the orchestra to perform the piece that crowned the function, the luminous Scheherazade op. 35 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, based on some of the tales of The Arabian Nights, which the protagonist who gives title to the composition recounted to Sultan Shahriar to appease his anger. But that is another story. The composition is a whole display of delicacies with which some of the instruments show off their best virtues. Thus, Spahiu, Bleuse, Miralles, Arnal and Fortea —violin, cello, flute and oboe— displayed many of their skills in a small great wonder that, being so colorful, never ceases to shine, just as it happened in this second concert of the Festival de Pollença. A second concert that began with a Prelude of Tristan and Isolde, which, in a way, suffered from the ailment of references, but which in any case served as a good prologue to the piece by the British. A German, a British, and a Russian... offered us another good concert of the level and prestige of the event that concerns us and will concern us all month of August.

Kick-off to the 65th edition of the Pollença Festival with the Sant Domingo Cloister packed to the rafters and a few extra chairs. Those responsible for this situation came with names and surnames of proven prestige, Daniel Harding conducting the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Daniil Trifonov on piano. But for contrasts, those they offered us in the first piece of the program, the "Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15. A monumental and careful musical combat between the soloist and the ensemble of major subtlety and a modest reading, as if wanting to transmit with absolute fidelity all that was going through the composer's mind and heart. It was not spectacular, for the simple reason that it was not the author's purpose or intention – he took five years to finish it – but there was the contained tension to convey a whole series of subtle sensations that Trifonov's piano distilled with such a deep and gigantic Majestic. A first movementthat begins the orchestra with ninety energetic bars, until the solemn entrance of the soloist. Permanent, unfading communion, between the protagonists of a concert more symphonic than anything else, but which in some way draws from the sources of chamber music and with a duration that exceeds that of theEmperor of Beethoven. The collaboration between Trifonov and the Hardings was exemplary, reaching its peak in the exciting and moving Adagio which was so well received by the intended recipient, Clara Schumann. An introspective Trifonov displayed great, meticulous sensitivity, where each touch, each phrase, each silence, opened up a whole spectrum of emotions and numerous interpretations. Nor did the third movement, Allegro non troppo, increased the dose of vehemence, and the Rondo sounded with a more subdued tone than usual. It is a choice that somehow gave even more solidity to the whole. Strange the encore, mournful, gloomy, it can be a bit too much for a summer night. A tu cantem, by Pàvel Txesnokov.

Nobody who attended the concert that on May 23, 2019, the Balearic Islands City Auditorium offered, will forget the voice of the Norwegian soprano who had come to replace the American Lise Lindstrom. The name Lise Davidsen began to be spoken of in earnest, in a dazzling ascent, while she captivated everyone, without exception. Even those responsible for the Wagnerian oracle, where in the same year, two months later, she debuted with the role of Elisabeth in Tannhäuser with a tremendous success. From here, the possibility of a return was not even remote. Once again the predictions that more than a few soothsayers had made were shattered when the Cap Rocat Festival announced that we would have the opportunity to once again enjoy the immeasurable talent of Lise Davidsen, moreover in her Spanish debut as Floria Tosca. This circumstance alone made the semi-staged version of Puccini's opera an event of the highest possible caliber. 

Fourth and final concert of the Bellver Festival with the Orquestra Simfònica Illes Balears as the protagonist of this now consolidated event. Like an encore of the season, even though it is a different audience, this circumstance arises depending on where the activities take place. In any case, the four concerts by the ensemble at the emblematic castle are already a tradition and the venue is filled day after day. The last one was no exception and, while soloists had been the protagonists until now, for this occasion it was the British conductor Michael Francis who was in charge of putting his stamp on the concert. A British stamp, as was that of the program, made up of three composers of the same nationality and almost the same generation, such as Edward Elgar, Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams. The chosen pieces were performed in chronological order, so that one could discern a small evolution of classical music in the former empire in a short period of time.

End of the festival, major festival, with a truly luxurious Falstaff, which, moreover, we will surely never forget, because it is the last opera directed by Josep Pons as artistic director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Therefore, a heartfelt farewell to someone who for 14 seasons has given us many memorable evenings. One of them, without a doubt, this third performance, the second of the first cast of Giuseppe Verdi's last opera. He said he was writing it just for fun. His librettist, the indispensable Arrigo Boito, said that Requiem and the previous opera, Othello. Now we will not enter into the diatribe of rankings, which go against the essence of art, but it is no less true that it does not have the appeal of many others by the master of Busseto in everyone's memory. In any case, more or less commercial, what is not in doubt is that it is an indisputable masterpiece. A good proof is the production of the Teatro Real, of La Monnaie de Brussels, of the Opéra National de Bordeaux and of the Tokyo Nikkita Opera Foundation, directed by Laurent Pelly, which we were able to see in Madrid six seasons ago.It is, without a doubt, a real privilege to be able to enjoy it with the best possible Falstaff, Luca Salsi, and without forgetting that it is Ambroggio Maestri who is also responsible for interpreting the famous character, so celebrated that he makes an appearance in three of Shakespeare's plays, in the two of Henry IV and at The Merry Wives of Windsor, immortalized by Orson Welles in cinema. Although it is a character as comical as it is pathetic, the simplest thing would be to turn him into a caricature, but Pelly hits the right tone and his characteristics become a very accurate portrait with much more depth and substance than could be guessed at first glance. Salsi, immeasurable, from beginning to end, from head to toe, brilliant with the declaration of principles of the braggart, Honor! Thieves!, an explosion of contrasts with which the function opens. The bar, set very high. The others did not lower the level, such as Lucas Maechem's Fenton, with the same dose of stage presence as his “opponent”. Serena Sáenz's Nannetta and Carolina López Moreno's Alice, impeccable and with the grace that both characters need. All compensated, they all become the perfect complement to each other, but it must be said that Daniela Barcelona's Quickly had added value. With each intervention, she was funnier than the previous one. A choral work with an almost perfect distribution of protagonism and with a production in which everything was just right. As expected, Josep Pons, had already tidied up any possible small imbalance from the opening night, offering an impeccable reading of a score with a lot of harmonic diversity, which concludes with the presence of the choir, as minimal as it is effective.

Hearing Fullana play the Guarneri's Mary Portman is always an indescribable pleasure. Thursday, at the third concert of the Bellver Festival, it was no exception, quite the contrary. Francisco Fullana, once again, put on an exhibition of talent, gratitude, and commitment to what, in a way and undoubtedly, is also his orchestra and his audience. He demonstrates this time and time again. The truth is that, very probably, even those of us who have been listening to him for years in all and each of his performances at home are not sufficiently aware of his stratospheric level. Perhaps it is because it is in our DNA, but that is another story.

Second concert in Bellver. Unusual. Special. Affectionate. For various reasons. The first we find in the soloist, Josep Colom, the one in charge of interpreting the Piano Concerto No. 27 K. 595, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. An extraordinary musician in many ways, who is not legend, but history of music in print. An excellent and peculiar pianist, so much so that each of his interpretations has its own seal without betraying the original. Thursday evening was no exception, with a trademark cadence. Tireless. He would never stop playing. But, in addition, he has been a teacher about whom all his students speak wonders, with both affection and admiration. Pablo Mielgo, from the podium, explained that at 11 years old he had played in front of him and that, therefore, it was an honor to be able to accompany him. His interpretation of this late Mozart, although he was only 35 years old and had less than a year left to die, was careful, but when the best Colom emerged it was with the encore, the Rondo in A major K. 485, also by Mozart. It was as if the first intervention was a preparation. He certainly would have raised the level if he had continued playing. It is clear that seeing and hearing Josep Colom is always a luxury and, of course, a pleasure.Another of the reasons that the adjectives proclaim we find in the formation. Some members of the Symphonic accompanied by others from the Little Symphonic, formed by students between 10 and 16 years old, to whom, in addition to the prize of sharing the stage with the already professionals, Mielgo inoculated the first dose of the poison of applause. All of them showed that they were there on their own merits, with some solos that, with their eyes closed, we would not have figured out who was responsible. A success for Mielgo and an incentive for them, as in the second part the number of participants had increased. A second part that began with a selection of themes from La boutique Fantasque, by Ottorino Respighi, an orchestral suite from the ballet inspired by Rossini's music. Fun, cheerful, ideal. Next, a classic, The Moldau. Descriptive, suggestive, sweet. Everything in order, even a little surprising, the level of the concert. To end the party, rhythm, of quality, the Danzón No. 2, by Arturo Márquez. It goes without saying that the castle was once again full to the brim.

The Tchaikovsky-Dogadin tandem was in charge of inaugurating this new edition of the Bellver Festival, as an appendix to the season of the Illes Balears Symphony Orchestra, in the incomparable setting, which is a cliché, but undeniable. Pablo Mielgo conducted the performance, who once again showed good chemistry with the soloist of the day. Sergei Dogadin had already played with the same accompanists on two previous occasions. In the 23/24 season, he performed the Concerto for Violin, by Alexander Glazunov, and the following season he was in charge of opening the Symphony's season with the Concerto for Violin. In Memory of an Angel, by Alban Berg. On Thursday, I want to suppose that with the Domenico Montagnana, from 1721, he offered us a more recognized piece than those mentioned, but with a higher degree of difficulty, as immense as it is excellent, with the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major op. 35, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, the only one that the Russian, who often didn't seem like it, composed for this instrument.

Forty editions and sold out for many years is a good reason for joy and, of course, to crown the season with a Rigoletto is one of the best ways to do justice to the event. It also carries a certain risk. To achieve a good result, high-level voices are needed. Damiano Salerno as Rigoletto and Génesis Moreno as Gilda were in charge of doing so and solemnizing the anniversary. Undoubtedly, they shone far above the rest of a cast that was not bad at all. But the pivotal moments of the performance were generated when they were the great protagonists. Their duets were anthological. They began their recital with the emotional and delicate Figlia! Mio padre! They continued with the colossal Mio padre!…Tutte la feste al tempio. They elevated the tragedy with the final duet, V’ho ingannato, colpevole fui and Lassú in cielo. These three moments alone would have been enough to satisfy an audience that bid farewell to the protagonists standing, after Rigoletto's desperate lament, 'La maledizione'. This was the title Giuseppe Verdi wanted. A detail of no importance for an impeccable and implacable piece. Structurally perfect, which forces both protagonists into a detailed, meticulous, and, of course, very demanding existential metamorphosis. Both Rigoletto and Gilda, the hunchback and the daughter, evolve, both vocally and dramatically, as circumstances arise and change. Salerno and Moreno more than fulfilled their task. Génesis Moreno, two seasons ago, had already shown many of her virtues at the Teatre Principal, playing Gounod's Juliet. Therefore, her choice to star as Gilda could not have been more fitting. If the entire performance was memorable, a tremendous and colossal display of warmth, expressiveness, coloratura, breath... it left everyone more or less stunned with an unforgettable Caro nome. Nothing to say, but quite the opposite, about the interventions of Damiano Salerno, with a resounding and full voice, who with an emotional and powerful Cortigiani, vil razza dannata, rich in nuances and full of difficulties, did not make us miss any of the great singers who have interpreted the most convoluted and complex character in Verdi's production. His projection, the complicated alliance of virulence and subtlety, and impeccable diction and vocalization stand out.The diction was a small hindrance for Filip Filipovic as Duke of Mantua, considerable in volume, but uneven overall, leaving the canzonetta that has remained as the symbol of the piece, La donna è mobilie, as an anecdote. The complicated piece is, always and much more so, Ella mi fu rapita! Filip Filipovic was correct, although regarding his character, I think he was too angry in the conception of a seducer, as if he were Gualtier Maldé. On another level, but adequate, was the local performance, with Begoña Gómez as Maddalena, Irene Mas as the Duchess's page, and Cristòfol Romaguera as Count Ceprano. On the other hand, Toni Marsol was an efficient and expeditious Monterone, while for Niall Anderson's Sparafucile, one did not need to go so far. The orchestra, conducted by Oliver Díaz, and the male choir of the Teatre Principal performed well, while Elena Barbalich's staging, in the production that arrives from Pavia, Como, Brescia, Cremona, Bergamo, and Toulon, combined period costumes with very contemporary metallic structures, aesthetically effective, but which above all served to delineate with great effectiveness each space where the action takes place at each moment. A great opera evening.

The Orbitans continue on their alternative theatrical path. If their usual haunt has been and is the bar counters of many city streets, they recently explored another territory for another type of dramaturgy and, undoubtedly, for their already consolidated audience. The first test took place in a hotel room, the Ars Magna, with the title Píccolo. A success. Hence a second rehearsal, in the same place and with no few guarantees, which with the title Estranyes visites written and directed by Javier Gato Matesanz, starring Mariona Hauf and Joan Manel Vadell.