Diego el Cigala releases a live set recorded at Madrid's Teatro Real, accompanied by
Niño Josele on guitar

Flamenco-world.com

That warm summer night, Diego el Cigala took up his place on stage at the Teatro Real with a royal air. The cantaor from Madrid, accompanied only by guitarist Niño Josele from Almería, sat down to sing with the serenity of a man playing on his home turf… even in the knowledge that the red 'recording' light was on. 'Diego el Cigala con Niño Josele' is the title given to this new album, recorded at a concert on July 25th 2002, part of the Festival de Verano at the Spanish capital's Opera house. Flamenco-world.com offers you the chance to reserve your advance copy of Diego el Cigala's disc. The first thirty copies will be autographed by the cantaor.

Diego el cigala and Niño Josele

'Diego el Cigala con Niño Josele', released on the Tablao label, offers a varied compendium of cantes, tackled, according to the promotional briefing, "by someone within his rights to make such a recording". The live recording - an unusual format for the flamenco genre - includes soleares, cantes de Levante, fandangos de Huelva, tientos tangos, bulerías and fandangos naturales. And all of them are sung "straight, stripped of any frills or pretence," in a mature tone, without stretching beyond the middle register. No backing voices, no cajón, nothing other than the pure voice of Diego el Cigala and the toque of Niño Josele, a guitarist who already provided backing for the cantaor on his previous disc, 'Corren tiempos de alegría' (Tablao, 2001).

The recital which gave rise to this recording was offered as part of the Festival de Verano 2002 at Madrid's Teatro Real. On the evening of July 25th, under the banner 'Noche Gitana', the cantaor shared a double bill with bailaora Sevillana Manuela Carrasco.

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