The programmers of the classical summer festivals didn't have to think twice when they designed the 2023 poster: it was necessary to honor Victoria of the Angels on the centenary of her birth. The foundation named after the legendary Barcelona soprano didn't even have to propose it. Panticosa in Granada or Sant Fruitós de Bages have dedicated a concert to him in which they reconstructed his repertoire or approached his vocal performance. And now they will do it, in order, Peralada, Santander, Torroella and the Schubertíada de Vilabertran.
The first of the dates will be played tomorrow in Peralada (8 p.m.) by Núria Rial's vocal purity and luminosity. The naturalness and emotionality of the singing and the elegance of the phrasing of the Catalan soprano are reminiscent of the legendary artist. The idea to propose it came from the pianist Rubén Fernández Aguirre, sensitive patron of the Victoria de los Ángeles Foundation, following a recording of Rial with songs by e Granados. To Helena Mora, president of the Foundation and of Life Victoria, she was reminded at times of the voice of Victoria, her mother-in-law, each in her vocality. And, since Aguirre was looking for the opportunity to work with Rial, he came up with this tribute based on Victoria's favorite songs.
"I also really wanted to work with Rubén. He talks when he plays the piano, he takes you... He's not an accompanist, he's a flying carpet – laughs Rial on the phone. But it made me dizzy, the truth, because of the great respect I have for Victoria. I grew up listening to her. And, when my son was a baby, I lived in Basel and I didn't know what to do when he cried, but I put Victoria on him and he calmed down... This project responds to the desire to remember her with all the humility and affection" .
Rial and Aguirre have been based on the book by Manuel Capdevila i Font which collects all the concerts that Victòria did. The mosaic that remains ranges from Baroque to Romanticism and more: Campra, Scarlatti, Schubert, Fauré, Ravel, Granados, Montsalvatge, Toldrà and Mompou. He was that versatile.
"The program would have allowed for three concerts - the two performers agree -; we went crazy with the repertoire”. When she approached her figure, Rial was surprised that the songs she sang the most were not the most brilliant, but the most intimate and spiritual vocal ones, like Mompou's Cantar del alma based on the poem Cantar del alma (Aunque es de noche) by Joan de la Creu. "It's an a cappella piece with a very austere piano score. But he made it much more than other brilliant ones from Toldrà", he says.
The project saw the light of day at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid and in Panticosa, and they plan to do it in 7 and 8 places. "We would love to put it on the disc, it is the best memory of Victoria", adds Aguirre, for whom this is a type of project that represents a reward for so many hours dedicated to the race. "We have to mature it. That our name is a bit close to Victoria's is important for both of us. I, who studied in Austria and Germany, first got to know her through her relationship with Fischer-Dieskau and pianists of the lied world, and I was amazed: how could that woman get into such a closed world! He achieved it with the sincerity and humility that he leaves us as a school", he concludes.
