The pandemic interrupted many of the activities planned for Any Perucho, such as the premiere of the musical version of the novel Les històries naturals. Now, two years later, he has arrived in Barcelona, at the Condal theater, after touring through a few cities, with text by Sílvia Navarro, music and musical direction by Marc Sambola, and lyrics and direction by Miquel Agell.
Agell says that he knows Pratdip, the town where the events take place: “There was talk of corpses that it was not known how they had died. When I read Les històries naturals more than ten years ago, I thought that surely Perucho, who was a judge, must have heard something. And it seemed like a good novel to take to the theater and we made a musical. We had already done it with other authors, but this one was Catalan”.
“It is a very fanciful book –continues the director–, but there is a historical element, such as the appearance of General Prim and General Ramon Cabrera. We have had to slim it down, of course, leaving the essentials and limiting many things with the music, which helps to put you in a situation and create atmospheres”. Agell confesses that the coincidence with the Perucho year was accidental, although they wanted to release it in 2020.
The synopsis says: “Antoni de Montpalau in search of a vampire. A journey from the heart of darkness to the deepest feelings of the heart. 1840. Antoni de Montpalau, a renowned natural scientist of the Barcelona bourgeoisie, will be pushed to solve the mystery of the deaths that plague the town of Pratdip and are attributed to the bloodthirsty vampire Onofre de Dip. Aided by his cousin, the captain of the navy, Isadora Novau, and by the brave young Agnès d'Urpí, the firm rationalist principles of Montpalau will begin to crack”.
The company adds that the adaptation "focuses on the initiatory journey of the hero Antoni de Montpalau and the discovery of a world that he believed impossible."
Julià Guillamon, who was the curator of Any Perucho, considers that it is a good proposal: “Many people have been interested in the book to make films and finally a musical has arrived. Here they have wanted to highlight the female voices and that is why they have adapted it by changing the sex of some character. Another noteworthy element is that the characters from Tortosa speak with the accent of the area, and that has a lot of merit”.
The musical Les històries naturals is a production of the Lazzigags Company, performed by Albeni Aranda, Ester Bartomeu, Clàudia Codony, Xavi Duch, Eloi Gómez, Eduard Hidalgo, Carla Pueyo, Gerard Rodríguez and Ferran Rull, and the performances at the Condal Theater end. next Friday, June 3.
Catalan version, here
