Javier Latorre, Chicuelo, Tomatito, Ana Salazar and Carmelilla Montoya take part in this show which premieres on September 20th, 2004 in Barcelona

Flamenco-world.com, September 2004

The first flamenco musical is born. ‘Los Tarantos’, based on the novel by Alfredo Mañas which already inspired the film starring Carmen Amaya, “journeys to the different colors of music and flamenco dancing until it reaches the fusion with the voices and urban beats of the beginning of this century”, explains director Emilio Hernández. As in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Shakespeare, a man and a woman struggle to impose their love confronted with the rivalry of their respective families: Tarantos and Zorongos. And in this novel show, the main characters are going to be played by bailaora and cantaora Ana Salazar (Juana) and bailaor Juan Carlos Lérida (Ismael), with Carmelilla Montoya (Soledad) and Candy Román (Rosendo) playing the widow mother of the Taranto clan and patriarch of the Zorongos, respectively. Taking care of the music and musical directing is guitarist Chicuelo, who has had the collaboration of Tomatito. All the choreographic work is done by Javier Latorre, while the orchestration and arrangements correspond to Enric Palomar.

“With ‘Los Tarantos’, the first flamenco musical, we begin to open a new means of production”. As Javier Latorre - who has just premiered the choreography ‘El Loco’ for Spain's National Ballet - relates, this is a pioneer experience. And as such, it has run into problems. The main one, “finding people prepared to sing, dance and talk at the same time”, a complaint which now affects musical producers proliferating in cities such as Madrid. In the case of ‘Los Tarantos’, “the casting was really hard; we started off in Barcelona, but in the end, we also had to go to Madrid, Seville, Granada, Cádiz...”.

In spite of that, they have managed to shape a group of artists in which shines Ana Salazar, the Cádiz-born bailaora and cantaora who triumphed last year in France with her flamenco tribute to Edith Piaf. In addition, Javier Latorre stresses the name of Sevillian bailaora Carmelilla Montoya, “who has been a discovery”. Next to them on stage are Juan Carlos Lérida and Candy Román, in the lead male roles, besides Virginia Ureña, Juan Mateos, Cristóbal García, Rubén Olmo, Miguel Cañas and Antonio Castro in supporting roles. The group is completed with over ten artists singing and dancing on stage, besides nine musicians and two cantaores performing compositions by Catalan guitarist Chicuelo and orchestral arrangements by Enric Palomar, who has just presented the suite ‘Rafael Alberti. Poemas del exilio’ with Miguel Poveda at Seville's Maestranza Theater. Taller de Músics also collaborates in the musical section. The scenography is signed by Ariane Isabell Unfried and Rifail Ajdarpasic, the wardrobe is by María Araujo and the lighting is by Miguel Ángel Camacho.

Latorre points out that they had to “adapt flamenco's coordinates to the style of musicals”. With the result that there are, for example, “catchy tunes for the crowd to come out singing”. On September 20th, 2004, the Barcelona Musical Theater welcomes the premiere of ‘Los Tarantos’, a co-production by the theater production group Focus, the producer Antares, the firm Iberautor and the Barcelona municipal company BCM.

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