ÒPERA TO CATALUNYA BRINGS 5 LYRIC PRODUCTIONS TO THE SAAREMAA ÒPERA FESTIVAL

ÒPERA A CATALUNYA BRINGS 5 PRODUCTIONS TO ESTONIA IN A HISTORICAL MILESTONE FOR THE COMPANY

Òpera a Catalunya will be the guest company at the Saaremaa Opera Festival (Estonia), from July 23 to 27, and will offer a performance within the Tartu, European Capital of Culture 2024 program, on July 21.

From July 21 to 27, Òpera Catalunya will offer 7 performances of 5 different productions: the operas Tosca and Manon Lescaut by Puccini, Carmen by Bizet in a flamenco ballet version (of which there will be 3 performances), Il trovatore by Verdi and a lyrical Gala with the most representative of the Catalan and Spanish repertoire.

A total of 150 people – including choir, orchestra, soloists, flamenco ballet company and technical and production teams – will travel to Estonia in what is the largest delegation for the company so far.

This participation represents a great opportunity for international projection for Òpera a Catalunya, which will be able to show its intrinsic capacity to spin productions.

Today, July 9, the participation of Òpera a Catalunya in the Saaremaa Opera Festival 2024 was presented at a press conference at the Institut Ramon Llull in Barcelona, led by the Fundació Òpera a Catalunya (FOC) and the Orchestra Simfònica del Vallès (OSV), the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Sabadell City Council and Eesti Kontsert, the Estonian state promoter that organizes the festival.
Òpera a Catalunya will be the guest company at the Saaremaa Opera Festival, in Estonia, which will take place from July 23 to 27, 2024. For 5 days, a total of 7 different shows will be offered: the productions of Tosca and Manon Lescaut by Puccini, Carmen by Bizet (in an adapted version of the opera that incorporates flamenco ballet and of which there will be two screenings), Il trovatore by Verdi and a Lyrical Gala of opera and zarzuela with a selection of the most representative of the Catalan and Spanish repertoire. In addition, Òpera a Catalunya will give a first performance of Carmen on July 21 in Tartu (also in Estonia) within the Tartu 2024 program, European Capital of Culture.
In today's presentation we have had interventions by various institutional and artistic representatives: Ms. Montserrat Riba, Government delegate in the Nordic Countries and the Baltic Countries; Mr. Pere Almeda, director of the Institute Ramon Llull; Mrs. Marta Farrés, Mayor of Sabadell; Ms. Kertu Orro, CEO of Eesti Kontsert; Mr. Marcello Mottadelli, artistic coordinator of the Saaremaa Opera Festival; and Mr. Oscar Lanuza, general director of the FOC and manager of the OSV.

“It is an exceptional opportunity for the projection of the Opera Foundation in Catalonia and the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, which opens avenues of collaboration with Estonia, within the framework of the European Capital of Culture of Tartu” – Mr. Pere Almeda

“For the Government of Catalonia it is a satisfaction to support this initiative and to be able to accompany the Òpera a Catalunya Foundation and the Orquesta Simfònica del Vallès in these performances, which are of a high level and highly complex. “This participation is a great opportunity to recognize Catalan culture at an international level.” – Ms. Montserrat Riba

“It is always an honor and a pleasure to accompany the FOC in all performances. In Sabadell we are the second center of artistic production in the country and we have the joy of enjoying the opera throughout the year. Sabadell is the Capital of Catalan culture in 2024 and participating in this festival is an opportunity to add this element of internationality to the city.” – Mrs. Marta Farrés

“Participation in this festival is a great display and a great opportunity to showcase the company's efforts and Catalan culture. We face it as a challenge and at the same time a very large growth of the company also internally. “ – Mr. Oscar Lanuza

“It’s a great pleasure to host Opera Catalunya at the Saaremaa Opera Festival this year. For a week our tiny Saaremaa turns into a real opera island where the audience can enjoy the best classics of opera. The audience of Saaremaa Opera Festival is loyal and comes to enjoy the opera both from Estonia and abroad. I hope that Opera Catalunya will enjoy this week on Saaremaa and will capture the best memories of sunny Estonia” – Sra. Kertu Orro

“Saaremaa Opera Festival, on the 2024th edition, will guest the prestigious Fundació Òpera a Catalunya: we are really looking forward to see and listen all the shows planned together. A fair tribute to Giacomo Puccini, on his 100 anniversary, performing Tosca and Manon Lescaut” – Sr. Marcello Mottadelli

About the festival

The Saaremaa Opera Festival is one of the most important cultural events that takes place annually in the medieval Kuressaare Castle, one of Western Estonia's best-known tourist attractions, attracting 20,000 spectators from all over the world every year. Music fans, opera lovers and artists flock to the venue, attracted by the opportunity to enjoy opera and classical music in a picturesque and historic setting. Since it opened in 1999, the festival has gained increasing importance in Estonian cultural life and has become the event in the country that attracts the largest national and international audience.
The festival features opera performances performed by international opera companies. Since 2008 it has been organized by Eesti Kontsert, a state-owned company and main music promoter in Estonia, which also manages the country's four main auditoriums, and the artistic director is Arne Mikk. So far the Black American Opera (USA, 2008), Latvian National Opera (2009), Nemerovich-*Dantshenko Moscow Academic Music Theater (2010), Ankara State Opera and Ballet Theater (2011), Moscow have been present Helikon Opera (2012, 2019), companies from Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi (Georgia, 2013), Ukrainian National Opera (2014), Milà Theater (Italy, 2015), Wroclaw Opera (Poland, 2016), Krefeld Theater Mönchengladbach (Germany, 2017), Shanghai Opera Theatre, Vanemuine Theater and Hungarian State Opera (2018), St. Petersburg Chamber Opera (Russia, 2021), Bytom's Silesian Opera (Poland, 2022) and Maria Biesu National Opera and Ballet Theater of Chisinau (Moldova, 2023).

Programme and artists

Within the Tartu program, European Capital of Culture 2024, Òpera a Catalunya will offer on July 21 at the Vanemuise Concert Hall (Tartu) the world premiere of a new production of Carmen: an adaptation of Georges Bizet's opera that combines opera and flamenco ballet and which is presented jointly with the Barcelona Flamenco Ballet company, with David Gutiérrez as director and choreographer. An ensemble of 10 dancers and 4 flamenco musicians will share the stage with soloists, heart and orchestra to explain, through the power of dance and music, the stormy love story between Don José and Carmen. The solo singers will be the mezzo-soprano Laura Vila (Carmen), the soprano Eugènia Montenegro (Micaela) and the baritones Luis Cansino and Carlos Daza (Escamillo). This same show will be presented within the Saaremaa Opera Festival on July 24 in two showings, at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
The festival will open on July 23 with the performance of the opera Tosca by Giacomo Puccini, in a revival of the production presented within the Òpera a Catalunya 2021 cycle. The soprano Maribel Ortega (Floria Tosca), the tenor Enrique Ferrer ( Mario Cavaradossi) and the baritone Luis Cansino (Il Barone Scarpia) will make up the main solo voices in this proposal.
After the two performances of Carmen on July 24, the festival will continue with the third production on July 25, which will feature the opera Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini. This is the production presented within the Òpera a Catalunya 2023-24 season that passed through 10 Catalan cities with great success among the public and critics. Among the featured soloists will be soprano Berna Perles (Manon Lescaut), tenor James Lee (Des Grieux), baritone Enric Martínez-Castignani (Lescaut), tenor Jorge Juan Morata (Edmondo) and bass Juan Carlos Esteve (Geronte di Ravoir), practically all of them present on the aforementioned tour.
The third complete opera to be presented within the festival will arrive on July 26 with Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi. In this case, the production presented in April and May 2023 within the Òpera a Catalunya season is resumed, with the leading voices of the soprano Maribel Ortega (Leonora), the tenor Gustavo Porta (Manrico), the baritone Carlos Daza (Il Conte di Luna) and the mezzo-soprano Laura Vila (Azucena).
The last performance within the festival will be on July 27 with a Lyrical opera and zarzuela Gala. The first part will be dedicated to opera with a selection of the best opera arias and choruses by the great Italian masters such as Bellini, Donizzetti, Verdi and Puccini and French music by Gounod and Saint-Saëns. In the second part, you can listen to a wide selection of the best fragments of Spanish and Catalan zarzuela with well-known pieces such as the Fandango de Doña Francisquita or the popular sardana La santa espina. We will feature the same soloists from Il trovatore, as well as Estonian soprano Mirjam Mesak.

The musical direction will be carried out by the Musical Director of the FOC Daniel Gil de Tejada in the shows of Carmen, Il trovatore and the Gala lírica; by maestro Elio Orciuolo in Manon Lescaut and by maestro Sergi Roca Bru in Tosca. Carles Ortiz signs the stage directions in all the productions and the company's stable musical groups (the Choir Amics de l'Òpera de Sabadell and the Simfònica del Vallès Orchestra) will accompany the soloists in all performances.
In addition to the main programming, Òpera a Catalunya will also participate in the Opera Lounge on the evening of July 24, a small-format performance that combines opera and gastronomy. Nine members of the Choir Amics de l'Òpera de Sabadell will participate and will offer a program dedicated to a selection of aries from the operatic repertoire, popular songs and operetta, and zarzuela. In this way, these singers are given the opportunity to star in a musical evening in which they will participate as soloists.

A challenge and an opportunity for international projection

The participation of Òpera a Catalunya in the Estonian festival, as well as in the special programming in Tartu, has posed a real challenge for the company on an organizational and logistical level never before addressed until today.
Up to 150 people, including the choir, the orchestra, the soloists, the flamenco ballet company and the technical and production team will travel to Estonia to carry out the performances. Carrying five different productions, three of which are complete operas, implies the need for complete sets and costumes, which will be transported by road with four trailers to Saaremaa.
To prepare for these performances, during the two weeks prior to the trip, special rehearsal planning takes place at the La Farándula Theater in Sabadell, which will be done without sets or costumes. The titles that will be performed in Estonia are productions already known to the company – with the exception of Carmen, which is a new production – but the particularity of the festival, with different performances each day, requires intensive work with several daily rehearsals.
The overall budget for the performances in Estonia is around 400,000 euros, of which Eesti Kontsert assumes practically the entirety, taking care of the artistic expenses, travel and transportation of materials. The FOC contributes a part of the pre-production and the Sabadell City Council collaborates through the loan of La Farándula for the previous rehearsals. The remaining expense is covered with various subsidies, of which it is worth highlighting the help of the Ramon Llull Institute for the adaptations that had to be made to the sets.
This participation represents a great opportunity for international projection for Òpera a Catalunya, which will be able to show its intrinsic capacity to take productions on tour in an agile manner and without losing quality in the result. Participating in an event such as the Saaremaa Opera Festival contributes to increasing the visibility and prestige of the company, which will join the list of major opera companies that have previously been invited by this festival.

The Opera Foundation in Catalonia (FOC) is made up of the Associació Amics de l'Òpera de Sabadell, the Simfònica del Vallès Orchestra, the Banco Sabadell Foundation and the Fluidra Foundation, and has the support of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Catalonia, the Sabadell City Council, the Ministry of Culture and Sports – INAEM, the Barcelona Provincial Council and other institutions, sponsors, collaborators and patrons.