The twelfth 'Bienal de Flamenco', Seville's biennial festival,
sets a new record, with eighty performances on the programme
The festival, which runs
from 3rd September to 6th October 2002,
boasts seventeen premières
Flamenco-world.com
Seville's 'Bienal de Flamenco' is a record-breaker,
featuring eighty shows and seventeen premières on the line-up of events.
The total budget is 1,92 million Euros, up more than thirty percent on the previous
festival. The programme for the event, to be held between 3rd September and 6th
October 2002, features an astounding array of premières by leading figures
from the world of flamenco, names like Sara Baras, Antonio Canales, Eva la Yerbabuena,
Javier Barón or Israel Galván. But it won't all be dance: Tomatito,
Cañizares, Manolo Sanlúcar and Vicente Amigo head the star-studded
line-up of guitarists. Two new features of this, the twelfth edition of the festival,
are a series of cante recitals, where the vocalists perform at palaces in the
city's historical quarter, and a flamenco cinema season. The macrofestival will
incorporate the II 'Feria Mundial del Flamenco' (World Flamenco Fair), and as
a prelude, during July and August, flamenco will invade several of Seville's neighbourhoods
as part of the programme of 'La Bienal va por barrios' (The biennial takes to
the streets).
Even-numbered year again, so... Seville
gears up for the twelfth edition of its unmissable flamenco event. 'La Bienal
de Flamenco' has finalised its calendar and no corner of the Sevillian capital
will escape the action. July sees the commencement of the series of open introductory
performances under the banner 'La Bienal va por barrios', and the activities don't
let up until Sunday 6th October, when the Auditorio de la Cartuja holds the finale
to the event, a flamenco fusion concert named 'Mestizaje' (Melting pot). The range
of activities featured in the line-up during these three months, organised with
the help of almost thirty companies, will be highly varied... everything you can
squeeze out of the budget of almost two million Euros, financed by Seville Town
Council, the Andalusian Regional Government, the Spanish Ministry of Culture and
Caja Madrid Savings bank.
Pepa de Benito (Photo: Anahí Cármody)
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Things start hotting up in July and August
at venues like Hotel Triana, Palacio de la Buhaira, el Cortijo de Cuarto or the
ruins of the Monasterio de San Jerónimo, where you can see Capullo de Jerez,
peñas (informal private groups) from Huelva and Jerez, El Chozas and Pastora
Galván's 'La Noche Flamenca' among the highlights. And as this season of
concerts ends, a new one begins: from 21st August one of the new features of the
festival will be 'A palo seco', 'unplugged' and unadulterated concerts with no
amplification, performed on patios, in plazas and at Seville's palaces, and featuring
legends of cante, veterans and new blood alike, singers such as Chano Lobato,
Diego Clavel, Fernando Terremoto, Segundo Falcón...
'La Bienal de Flamenco' itself gets
into full swing on Tuesday 3rd September at the Real Alcázar's Patio de
la Montería. Four mini-festivals with names like 'Poderío' (Power),
'Jondura' (Authenticity) or 'Duende' (Magic), present La Paquera, Bernarda de
Utrera, Chocolate, Agujetas, José Menese, Milagros Menjíbar, Aurora
Vargas and Pepe de Lucía. And on the following Saturday the royal palace
sees the festival off with a presentation concert for 'Sur', the latest release
by pianist Dorantes. Teatro Lope de Vega takes the baton with the première
of Minotauro, Antonio Canales's new show. And this theatre will also be the venue
for other premières, such as 'Orestes en Lisboa', a set inspired by Esquilo's
La Orestea, directed by Francisco Suárez; 'Mass Flamenco', by pianist Pedro
Ricardo Miño; Javier Latorre's adaptation of 'Rinconete y Cortadillo';
and a show by Juana Amaya. And in addition, this temple of drama will play host
to the finals of the 'Concurso de Jóvenes Intérpretes' (The newcomers'
contest).
Seville's opera house will present grand
shows like Sara Baras's 'Mariana Pineda', 'Concierto Flamenco para un marinero
en tierra' (Flamenco concierto for a sailor onshore) by Vicente Amigo, 'Tierra
adentro' (Inland) by Cristina Hoyos -a show premièred in January at the
same theatre- 'Un ramito de locura' (A bouquet of madness) by Carmen Linares,
and a new orchestrated version of 'Medea' by Manolo Sanlúcar. This venue
also sees recitals by, among others, Tomatito, Enrique Morente, Cañizares
and El Lebrijano. Under the banner 'Danzas para el nuevo tiempo' (Dances for the
new age), Seville's Teatro Central brings offerings from young flamenco creators.
Javier Barón, Eva la Yerbabuena, Isabel Bayón, Israel Galván
and Hiniesta Cortés all present their latest productions.
And once the theatres are closed and
the clocks strike midnight, the flamenco moves swiftly on to other corners of
the city. At Teatro Alameda, Gualberto presents the première of his composition
'Caminos del Aljarafe', José Antonio Rodríguez presents 'Alquimia'
(Alchemy), El Pele offers '¡Ay, Caracol!' (Damn!), Pedro Sierra gives us
'Flamenco Music'... Hotel Triana offers other shows as part of the festival line-up,
a compilation of songs from the countryside: 'Campiña'; a tribute in the
wake of 'Territorio Camarón'; a show which brings us a taste of Jerez with
'La Tierra del Compás'; and others which bring us flavours from Triana
and Cadiz. A new venue is included in this edition of the Biennial festival, the
newly reopened Feria de Ganado de San Miguel will play host to two flamenco dates:
one featuring Lole Montoya and Diego Carrasco, and another whose theme is El fandango
de Huelva. Six peñas sevillanas will join in with the festival proceedings,
with intimate cante recitals.
Manolete (Photo: Anahí Cármody)
Complementary activities
The world of cinema makes its mark at
the Biennial for the first time this year. Fundación El Monte has sponsored
a week of flamenco cinema, with screenings of movies like 'Flamenco', 'Sevillanas'
and 'El amor brujo' by Carlos Saura, 'Duende y misterio del flamenco' by Edgar
Neville, 'Montoyas y tarantos' by Vicente Escrivá, or 'Vengo' by Tony Gartlif,
among others.
But it won't all be entertainment. Flamenco
will be bought and sold at the II Feria Mundial del Flamenco (World Flamenco Fair),
which this year overlaps with the last four days of the festival. In contrast
to the 2001 event, this year the industry fair will make a distinction between
flamenco professionals and general public, with specific timetables for each.
Record companies, producers, craftsmen, satellite industries and retailers will
be among the sectors of the flamenco business represented at Seville's Palacio
de Exposiciones y Congresos -the Exhibition and Congress Centre- broadening the
range of activities at this, the premier flamenco festival in the world.
Translation: Gary Cook
revista@flamenco-world.com
