Monday, 02 May 2016 15:13
The Formentera Council's Office of Culture unveiled today its spring calendar of musicals and stage productions. According to department head Susana Labrador, it's a programme with “something for everybody”. “From opera to theatre and kids productions to musicals, the variety of styles and formats on this season's cultural agenda points to one thing: culture is back at centre stage on Formentera”.
May
Formentera viu l'Òpera picks up again this May with one of the world's most beloved ballets: Giselle. With music from Adolphe Adam and choreography from Yuri Grigorovich, Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre brings this evening of dance to the Formentera cinema (Sala de Cultura) at 8.00pm, Saturday May 7.
The Formentera viu l'Òpera series was borne of a desire to bring this magnificent art form to Formentera audiences. Organisers have compiled a well-known selection of operatic productions for HD projection at the CiF cultural hall.
Another event that shouldn't be missed is Palabras de Miguel, a production of Nona Teatro. Scheduled for 9.00pm, Saturday May 14 at Centre Tur Gabrielet, this free show combines the acting of José Manuel Garzón with music from pianist José Galiana in a heartfelt rendering of the lifelong correspondence between poet Miguel Hernández and wife Josefina Manresa. First, we see the couple's relationship in its earliest stages, during a season spent by the artist in Madrid. Then, with the onset of the Spanish Civil War, Hernández eventually finds himself on the front lines of combat. Later, he is arrested and held in Spanish prisons until, in Alicante, he ultimately passes away. Through a series of letters, the audience is presented a rarely seen side of Hernández, as a father and husband. Palabras de Miguel combines texts and poems with the accompaniment of a piano.
For the kids
Kids will have a time with Safrà i Serafí, a puppet show by the Catalan company Txo Titelles about the strength and value of friendship. Safrà and Serafí, two field mice, are next-door neighbours with consummately different interests in life. Their story is a reflection of the power of diversity to enrich us and a reminder that friendship and cooperation make us whole.
Safrà i Serafí, for audiences two and up, will be held Saturday May 21 at 6.00pm in the cinema (Sala de Cultura). Tickets are five euros and one adult per family can enter for free.
Formentera, at centre stage
As this summer winds down the island will just be warming up. Performances of two productions are scheduled on Formentera as part of the regional ministry of culture's programme Platea. In October, the company Titziana Teatro will present islanders with their most recent show: Distancia siete minutos, a touching mixture of acting and dramatic writing by Pako Merino and Diego Lorca. Hailed by critics, this production will be in the cinema October 1.
Marcel Gros, one of the most loved and recognised clowns on the Catalan stage, will bring his most recent production to Formentera just in time for November's World Children's Day. Having honed the craft now for more than thirty years, Gros is thrilled to be back presenting audiences with La gran A... ventura [història d'un Pallasso]. Gros's ability to get entire audiences smiling is certifiable. Come to the cinema, Saturday November 12 at 5.30pm, and watch as he “combines multi-comic and mini-media” for a production that is “absolutely, exclusively for everyone”.
Lastly, Circuit Talent IB, the jointly run initiative by Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics and the Govern Balear's ministry of culture, will soon be back for a new round of musical and performing arts productions. According to Councillor Labrador, next season's programme will be published this June.