The Community of Madrid presents Escena Escorial, an international festival that from 28 August to 19 September will fill San Lorenzo de El Escorial with music, dance and theatre. Alondra de la Parra directs the programming.
The Sierra Oeste of Madrid will become a grand stage this late summer. The Community of Madrid presented Escena Escorial on Tuesday, a new international performing arts festival that will take place from 28 August to 19 September in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, with artistic direction by Alondra de la Parra, head of the Community of Madrid Orchestra and Choir (ORCAM).
The programme will bring together internationally renowned artists, new productions and proposals from various disciplines. Activities will take place at the Teatro Auditorio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial, the Real Coliseo Carlos III, and the Teatro de la Antigua Mina de Zarzalejo, three venues that will enhance the cultural offerings of the region during the last weeks of summer.
A luxurious prelude and a grand opening
Before the official start, on 15 August, Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov will give an extraordinary recital. Considered one of the great figures of contemporary classical music, his performance is presented as one of the highlights of Madrid's cultural summer.
The official opening will take place on Friday, 28 August with The Colours of America, a concert conducted by De la Parra herself, leading the Young Orchestra of the Community of Madrid (JORCAM) alongside French musician Thomas Enhco. The following day, Brazilian guitarist Yamandu Costa will feature in Choros y Milongas with the JORCAM chamber group, and in the evening, he will present Latino Echoes at the Teatro de la Antigua Mina, accompanied by the Alexis Cárdenas Quartet.
On Sunday, 30 August, Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulović will present The Burning Violin alongside the ensemble Double Sens, with a programme that includes works by Vivaldi and Bach.
Dance, symphony, and a Carmen 2.0
Dance will play a prominent role with the premiere, on 3 September, of Nascencia, the new creation by the Spanish Ballet of the Community of Madrid, directed by Mónica Fernández. A day later, ORCAM, in collaboration with the RTVE Choir, will perform Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, by Gustav Mahler, conducted by Alondra de la Parra, featuring soprano Serena Sáenz and mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez.
On 5 September, the programme will include Perhaps, perhaps… Quizás, by Gabriela Muñoz, known as Chula the Clown, a gestural and wordless clown show. That same night, pianist Thomas Enhco will present In an Instant, a concert on the terraces of the Teatro Auditorio.
One of the major events of this first edition will arrive on 12 September with the premiere in Spain of @Carmen. The reel story, which transports the story of the iconic Carmen by Bizet into the world of social media. The production will star mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez, accompanied by tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz and baritone Tommaso Barea, with musical direction by Alondra de la Parra and stage direction by Bárbara Lluch.
Barenboim, the grand finale
The last weekend of the festival will begin with Triple Impact, a chamber music proposal by the Zénon Trio, performing works by Felix Mendelssohn and Maurice Ravel. The grand finale will arrive on 19 September with Daniel Barenboim, who will conduct the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, a formation he founded with Edward Said in 1999.
Under his baton, the orchestra will perform Prelude and Love Death from Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner; Symphony No. 8, Unfinished, by Franz Schubert; and Symphony No. 3, Heroic, by Ludwig van Beethoven, in the concert that will conclude this edition of the festival.
Tickets and subscriptions for all shows at Escena Escorial are already available through the official festival website. Residents of the mountains and visitors will be able to enjoy a cultural offering that makes San Lorenzo de El Escorial one of the major cultural hubs at the end of summer.
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