From the heights of Vil·la Joana to Vallvidrera, to the depths of the Dipòsit del Rei Martí in Sarrià, the Grec expands to all corners of Barcelona. Today its director, Cesc Casadesús, has presented a dozen unique shows that are offered in equally unique spaces.
Choral singing is the common denominator of three of these proposals. Choreographer Marina Mascarell, musical director Simon Hasley and Orfeó Català will interpret Fauré's requiem in El requiem de la llum, in a relatively unknown space in the modernist precinct of Hospital de Sant Pau. "People were going to heal, and this requiem is that of hope - says Mascarell-. It's not like Mozart's, more apocalyptic. We will hear it standing up, with unique acoustics, and the voices will come and go, with the singers manipulating some light elements. It is a collective spiritual experience".
Hasley adds: “When I was growing up, music was only made in churches and concert halls. Today we do it in new spaces, with new presentations, exploring buildings. It is important that the singers have visual contact with the public, that is why they learn the lyrics by heart”. ( 14-16/VII)
With the Cor del Teatre Principal de Palma, Aurora Bauzà and Pere Jou present A beginning_expanded version, at the Dipòsit del Rei Martí. “With 11 performers, the show works with darkness, which is our pentagram,” says Jou. It is a vocal and light piece that tries to give new alternatives to the future and flee from this apocalyptic present”. (8-9/VII)
The apocalypse is also related to the show by the Companyia Sol Picó, Titanas al Born, with the Cor de la Unió de Granollers, in the ruins of 1714. With music by Judit Farrés, Picó explains: “I take the apocalyptic narrative personally and I make my own. We are three dancers, creating a kind of triangle, which is a new space and where are we going with all this. We are accompanied by 20 titans from the choir”. ( 6-7/VII)
Also in the Born, Projecte Ingenu presents The day the last panda is going to die. The public, with an audio guide, visits a museum of the future where they witness their own extinction,” explains Marc Chornet. The show drinks from the thought of Eudald Carbonell, who says that when human reproduction occurs artificially, we will cease to be the human species”. On stage, six versatile performers and a musician. ( 12-14/VII)
Another musealized space, the Model, is the scene of Jo, travesti, a text by Josep Maria Miró for the Roberto G. Alonso Company. “The show was created thinking of this space hostile to the theme of cross-dressing – declares Alonso – and gives it poetic justice”. Miró adds: “It is an alterfiction, based on Roberto's own experience, who in the show says that she feels like a woman. Transformation has been present in Barcelona since the end of the 19th century”. ( 17-19/VII)
The Grec will also be present at the Fundació Julio Muñoz Ramonet, with A House on the Mountain, by Albert Boronat. With the actors Javier Beltrán and Sergi Torrecilla, only 15 people will be able to access each time, to attend a meeting between two characters, with a little food for everyone. "There is the idea that if there is a community it is because we eat together or we eat together and community is created," says Boronat. The program advances that one of the two characters has to kill the other. ( 22-23/VII)
In Vil la Joana, where Mossèn Cinto died and which is a Muhba space, the Companyia Pagans presents El valor de res. Its director, Núria Clemares, declares: “It is a show for 30 spectators. We set out to get people to read. We have created the book ourselves, we have written it, the illustrations, the layout... And there is a moment when it becomes magical. It is based on a healer from the 16th century, there is a very important ecological part. And the technology is also, simple in appearance, but very complex in operation”. ( 13-15/VII)
In another museum, in this case the MNAC, the Companyia La Reina Alcalde presents Corpus. “It is a temporary performative exhibition, thanks to the link with the Nau Ivanow, creation and museums –explains Irene Vicente Salas–. Art crosses the great themes of humanity. I love talking about Catalan art, which is universal. There are seven scenes throughout the MNAC. There is no linear route and it can be visited in more than one day. There will be 15 or 16 performers and museum visitors will also find it”. ( 20-22/VII)
At the Ateneu Barcelonès, Ópera de Butxaca will present the second part of its opera solos, which were interrupted by the pandemic. Now it will be Quatre solos soles, with musical direction by Francesc Prat and stage direction by Marc Rosich. The show narrates through four monodramas, the stories of four voices trapped in domestic environments. (July 12-13)
Finally, the Grec goes to the La Muriel bar, “a gastronomic and cultural incubator, and also a space for leisure and rauxa in Gràcia”, in the words of Pau Roca. Sixto Paz presents Bèsties, based on a story by the British Monica Dolan, played by Marta Marco. "She is a therapist who talks about the case of a mother who has allowed her 8-year-old daughter to have her breasts operated," explains Roca. And the actress explains her goal: "My mission is to capture attention in such a playful space." ( 3-13/VII)
Catalan version, here
