Tarragona opens a season with around seventy shows on September 26

Tarragona will start on September 26 a performing arts season with around seventy shows until February. The first stage will be for the Orquestra de Músiques d’Arrel de Catalunya and the production ‘Pau’, inspired by the legacy of Pau Casals.

The programming will not be confined to the Teatre Tarragona. There will be proposals in the civic center theaters, in the streets, and in spaces such as the old prison. In other words: this fall, the city will have theater inside, music outside, and a schedule full enough to force us to choose (the most unpleasant part of having options).

A season that distributes stages throughout Tarragona

Why does this programming matter to the audience?

Because the season concentrates an extensive offer and, at the same time, distributes it across various points in Tarragona. The Teatre Tarragona will host most of the proposals, but civic centers, the streets, and the old prison will also be part of the scenic route.

The fall-winter season will start on September 26 and last until February. This period will bring together about seventy shows and combine classic theater, new dramatizations, circus, music, opera, and dance.

This variety is not just a matter of quantity. For the audience, it means that the programming does not require choosing a single artistic language: one same season can go from classical text to contemporary dance, from opera to circus, and from folk music to a theatrical proposal with humor.

Which venues will host the shows?

The Teatre Tarragona will be the main venue of the season, but not the only one. The programming will include events in civic center theaters, in the streets, and in other parts of the city, such as the old prison.

This detail has practical consequences for those wanting to follow the schedule: it will be necessary to look not only at which show is interesting, but also where it takes place. The stage will be part of the experience, especially when the proposal leaves the conventional theater and occupies an urban space or a civic facility.

• Teatre Tarragona: home to most of the proposals.
• Civic center theaters: spaces for various events.
• Streets of Tarragona: programming outside the usual venues.
• Old prison: one of the unique places that will host activities.

Thus, the season will have a double reading. On one hand, there is a bill concentrated at the Teatre Tarragona. On the other, there is a desire to bring performing arts to more corners of Tarragona, without turning all culture into a mandatory visit to the same building.

Opera, Music, and Flamenco open the calendar

How will the performing arts season begin?

The season will start with ‘Pau’, a production by the Orquestra de Músiques d’Arrel de Catalunya inspired by the legacy of Pau Casals. Folk music will be the first card presenting the program before other proposals of theater, opera, circus, and dance arrive.

The name of Pau Casals gives this opening a clear thread: the production starts from a concrete musical legacy and turns it into the starting point of the season. There is no need to dress it with more artifice. The first performance already has a sufficiently powerful reference.

Then will come the Festival Sona Flamenc, which will take place from October 5 to 12. The calendar will continue with Refugi Sonor, two events that place music in a prominent position within a program that does not limit itself to theatrical productions.

Which operas can be seen this fall?

The two opera proposals will be ‘L’elisir d’amore’ and ‘Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci’. Both will be presented by the Fundació Òpera a Catalunya.

The presence of two operatic titles expands the profile of the season and adds a lyrical line to an offer that already includes folk music, flamenco, and new dramatizations. Tarragona will have two identified opera appointments with the responsible company, a useful detail for those looking for this genre within the fall lineup.

The sequence also helps to read the rhythm of the program: an opening linked to Pau Casals, a week dedicated to flamenco, a new sound proposal, and two opera titles. It is not a single-color bill, but a succession of different registers within the same period.

The leading names of Theater and Dance

Which theatrical works stand out in the lineup?

Among the main theatrical draws is ‘Impossible’, by the company Cassandra Projectes Artístics, directed by Ramon Simó and starring Lluís Soler, Bernat Quintana, and Guillem Albasanz.

The list continues with ‘Hamlet’, by the company El Corral de L’Humor SLU, with Albert Pla and en Peyu, and ‘The Baby Tyler Show’, by the Canadian company SNAFU. These are three names and three different ways of reaching the audience, from revisited classics to an international company proposal.

• ‘Impossible’: Cassandra Projectes Artístics, directed by Ramon Simó.
• ‘Hamlet’: El Corral de L’Humor SLU, with Albert Pla and en Peyu.
• ‘The Baby Tyler Show’: Canadian company SNAFU.

In the case of ‘Impossible’, the focus is on direction and cast. In ‘Hamlet’, the spotlight is on the artistic duo formed by Albert Pla and en Peyu. And in ‘The Baby Tyler Show’, the distinctive feature is the Canadian origin of the company. The lineup plays with recognizable names and diverse origins, without losing connection to Tarragona.

What does Dance bring to this offer?

Dance will be represented by ‘La Quijá’, by Paloma Muñoz - Siberia Danza, a production of Mercat de les Flors. Also included will be ‘Cartografies del moviment invisible’, a project born with the intention of strengthening the contemporary dance networks in Catalonia and the result of PRO365 Dansa.

These two proposals show two faces of the discipline. ‘La Quijá’ arrives with the support of Mercat de les Flors' own production, while ‘Cartografies del moviment invisible’ emphasizes the connection between creators and contemporary dance networks.

For audiences not accustomed to seeking dance in the lineup, the name of the project already offers a clue: movement does not appear as a decorative addition, but as the center of the proposal. Dance will have its own space within a particularly diverse season, with two identified works and with a production context.

Between September 26 and February, Tarragona will combine about seventy shows, various venues, and an offer that spans from classical theater to new dramatizations, from opera to circus, and from music to movement. For the reader, the useful fact is simple: it will be necessary to consult each proposal, because the program will not have a single stage nor a single language. The season kicks off with ‘Pau,’ reserves two opera appointments, incorporates flamenco, and gives weight to theater and dance; now only the question remains of deciding which entrance—or which street—will be the first.

Source of the article: Editorial staff / Catalan News Agency