2008 Festival de Teatro Clásico de Almagro
2009; Auburn University; Volume: 61; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/boc.0.0001
ISSN1944-0928
Autores Tópico(s)Spanish Literature and Culture Studies
Resumo2008 Festival de Teatro Clásico de Almagro Vincent Martin En 2008 el Festival de Almagro ofrece a las mujeres protagonizar sus historias, escribirlas, dirigirlas y recordar con agradecimiento a aquellas que lo han hecho estos últimos cuatrocientos años. —Emilio Hernández, Director of the Almagro Festival This 31st edition of the Classical Theater Festival of Almagro (26 June-20 July 2008) paid homage to the key role of women in theater and in society, spotlighting female playwrights (Sor Juana and Feliciana Enríquez de Guzmán) and works particularly shaped by female characters (e.g., Tirso's La prudencia en la mujer and Fernando de Rojas's La Celestina). Several special events were also organized to tie into this focus on women. When all was said and done, 80,000 spectators had flocked to this rural village in La Mancha to see 50 international troupes present a total of 159 performances in 19 different spaces. In addition to theater performances, spectators enjoyed concerts, dance, storytelling, exhibitions, workshops for children and adults, the Jornadas de Teatro Clásico, and even a fashion show influenced by las clásicas which took place on a catwalk set up on the Plaza Mayor. Noticeably absent this year was the ever-popular street theater that, in recent years, has entertained the weekend audiences (Fridays and Saturdays) on the Plaza Mayor before the start of the "main events." Sadly, street theater this year was reduced to the festival's inauguration, Don Juan en los ruedos—"ópera popular de caballos, bailes y cantes"—and a dramatic "narración oral" by four women, cleverly titled Juego de damas; these public events took place on 26 and 27 June, respectively. The 8th annual Premio Corral de Comedias was presented to acclaimed British director Declan Donnellan and set designer Nick Ormerod, of Cheek by Jowl fame. Three of their plays were featured at this year's festival, and, not surprisingly, all were box-office successes: Shakespeare's Troilus [End Page 153] and Cressida (in English) and Twelfth Night (in Russian), and Racine's Andromaque (in French). Any attempt to accurately record the entire festival would be quixotic, so as a representative sampling I have selected six of the plays that I had the privilege to attend. The highlight of this year's festival—at least for this reviewer—was the powerful staging of Calderón's La paz universal o El lirio y la azucena in Almagro's Teatro Municipal (4-5 July). This ambitious production brought together the theater company Antiqua Escena, directed by Juan Sanz Ballesteros, the musical group (voice and instruments) La Grande Chapelle, directed by Albert Recaesens, and the Compañía de Danza Ana Yepes, directed and choreographed by Ana Yepes. If one of the greatest challenges faced by directors and artists when attempting to bring early modern theater to a postmodern audience is making the piece relevant and appealing, how much more difficult is that challenge when the play in question is an historico-political auto sacramental written for the madrileña feast of Corpus Christi in 1660 to celebrate the newly signed Treaty of the Pyrenees and the marriage of King Louis XIV to his Spanish cousin, María Teresa de Austria, daughter of Felipe IV? And yet, the relevance and timeliness of "universal peace" in 2008 were readily apparent. Audience members were given a very attractive 89-page "program," which clearly explained the theme, allegory, and historical setting of the play, the use of music in the autos in general, and in this auto in particular, a scene-by-scene plot summary, a scene-by-scene breakdown of the music being performed by the live orchestra that surrounded the stage, and the entire text of Calderón's auto, as well as other program-related items (cast of actors/characters, etc.). While it would have been impossible for the audience to read all this material in advance of the play, the brief introduction gave the necessary background for the visual allegories to come. The music, singing, and choreography of this production were superb. The opening scene was a musical invitation to enjoy the mística fiesta about to take place...
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