Juventus Lírica is back with the irreverent Gran Fiesta de la Ópera at the renovated Avenida Theater

Faithful to its spirit, always ready to put ingenuity where material resources are scarce, Juventus Lyrica is back to great public activity with a show in the renovated Avenida Theaterhome to all previous seasons.

The result was a gala called the Great Opera Festival, which spanned nearly 200 years, from Handel to Léhar, and with directed by Ana D’Anna and María Jaunarena (mother and daughter but also representatives of two generations of the institute) and the musical direction of Hernán Sánchez Arteaga.

It was not a “historical” exhibition of the figures that Juventus coached, but a celebration of its recent past, present and futureincluding the new voices that will surely be part of the cast of the next seasons.

It is evident that the greatest difficulty in a show of these characteristics is putting together a staging that gives it coherence. The directors achieved the task through continuity, but also by appealing to break when necessary; fundamental in this sense was the creation of favorable climates the wise illumination of Gonzalo Córdova.

The first part

The program consisted of 28 numbers (two of the originally planned had to be canceled at the first due to the illness of two of the singers) divided into two halves.

The first had an exciting crescendo through Italian opera. In two of those moments, Let me cry (Rinaldo by Handel) e Go, I think (Nabucco) it was impossible not to feel the presence of the musical soul of Juventus, the director Antonio Russo – who passed away last year-, and also the homage to other men and women not so visible but key in the gears of the machine, and to whom the association he also lost recently.

Since it would be impossible to give an account of each intervention, it is worth highlighting some shots of this first part; Ernesto’s serenade Don Pasquale, in which Sebastián Russo entered the audience accompanied by the choir and Sánchez Arteaga on the guitar; the quartet of Rigoletto (with Ivana Ledesma, Estefanía Cap, Sebastián Russo and Ernesto Bauer) or the three moments of Bohemian (Musetta’s waltz by the ubiquitous and always sparkling Laura Penchi, the quartet completed by Monserrat Maldonado, Darío Sayegh and Juan Salvador Trupia and the duo Oh sweet girl).

Also surprising and ingenious is the turn of the scene with which the “handyman” Sánchez Arteaga gave the podium to Hernán Schvartzman, the talented Argentine director residing in the Netherlands who has been collaborating with Juventus Lyrica for years and who directed the final part of the series. first part. The closure of this stretch was precisely one of the highest points, if not the highest of all, with Come on, friendsthe large number set of Count Ory.

With the challenge of taking on very different musical styles, and of overcoming the disadvantages of playing on stage (where the sound is amalgamated in a completely different way from the soundhole) and of having only one instrument on each side, which generates a logical imbalance and a lack filling between winds and strings, the orchestra performed with enormous professionalism with a selection of great musicians (with special mention for the first violin Serdar Geldymuradov) and under the orders of conductors always attentive to every detail.

The second part

The second part began with three thrilling moments: the resolute closed-mouthed chorus of Lady Butterflythe song to the moon Rusalka excellently interpreted by Ivana Ledesma, and another “lunar” aria, caste divasung with extreme sensitivity and musicality by Monserrat Maldonado.

The block dedicated to Viennese operettas contrasted with hilarious moments, such as the set of the merry widow led by Bauer, Trupia, Gabriel Carasso and Pablo Urban, the trio of The bat (Carasso, Penchi and Maldonado) e Bruderlein and Schwesterleinfrom the same work.

After a selection of Carmen in which the half-half Rocío Arbizu shone above all, well supported by Darío Sayegh, came to an end, with the apocryphal sextet of The Tales of Hoffman responsible for the entire cast and choir, and two unscheduled works: My seems to be with the headend of the first act Barber of Sevilleand the inevitable Toasted bread from Traviata.

Thus ended a show that propitious a party atmosphere for artists and audiencesan irreverent gala that flows with fluidity through the most extreme emotions, which celebrates the tacit embrace between all those who make the opera show and which contains that mixture of artistic depth and youthful freshness that constitutes the soul of Juventus Lyrica.

File

Qualification: Very good

Great Opera Festival. Direction of scene: Ana D’Anna and Maria Jaunarena. Musical direction: Hernán Sánchez Arteaga and Hernán Schvartzman. Soloists, choir and orchestra of Juventus Lyrica. Viale Theater.

Repeat Saturday 2nd July at 8pm and Sunday 3rd July at 5.30pm.

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