This Monday morning, the upcoming performances of the chamber opera "Por surcos calcinados (poema dramático en diez cuadros)" were presented in the hall of the CIC El Almacén. The presentation was attended by the Culture Councilor of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Alberto Aguiar, the director of A Casa-Museo Saramago, Javier Pérez, and Samuel Aguilar, in charge of the composition and artistic and musical direction of the work.
The launch of the work is a tribute to the immense work of the writer José Saramago, produced by the Cabildo de Lanzarote on the occasion of the celebration of the centenary of the birth of who was one of the most important writers of the 20th century and adopted Lanzarote native. The libretto of the opera is authored by the Tenerife poet Rafael-José Díaz.
The councilor, Alberto Aguiar, expressed "the firm commitment of the Culture area in the celebration of the events for the centenary of Saramago with this own production that aims to promote local talent and promote and make visible the creation made from our island." Aguiar explained that the technical team in charge of the assembly of the work is made up almost entirely of professionals from Lanzarote.
The production of the work by the Cabildo de Lanzarote has the vocation to expand its representation outside the borders of the island. For this reason, the councilor expressed "that various programmers from all over the Canary Islands have been invited to the representation to be able to take this important project to other islands, and also outside of them, with the aim of continuing to promote the great creative, artistic and technical work that is carried out from Lanzarote".
The director of A Casa-Museo Saramago, Javier Pérez, thanked the Cabildo de Lanzarote for launching this production that will put the finishing touch to the events of celebration for the centenary of the writer that will culminate on November 11.
For his part, the musical author of the work, Samuel Aguilar, also thanked "the firm commitment of the Cabildo de Lanzarote to carry out this production," also highlighting the importance of "almost the entire team comes from Lanzarote." The cast of singers is made up of tenors Pancho Corujo and Borja Molina, mezzo-soprano Belén Elvira and soprano Beni Ferrer. The rest of the technical team is made up of the musicians Major Tom Project; the stage direction and stage space by Siscu Ruiz; the costumes by Raquel Melián; the visual effects by Dea Woon Kang; and the lighting by Shelma Zebensui and Jonay Armas.
Dramatic poem in ten parts
The text created by Rafael-José Díaz starts from the image of a character who, at the end of his life and victim of a disease, decides to cross on foot the volcanic island where he lives. Aware that healing is not possible, he sets out to meet his peers: the dying, the dead and the castaways. His enigmatic journey, divided into a dozen fragments, will grant him the ultimate truth that only in the proximity of death does life deliver its elusive meaning.
José Saramago lived the last twenty years of his life in Lanzarote. He knew its arid landscapes, discovered its corners, felt its wind and its solitude, its distance from everything, shared with its people, and enjoyed its tranquility. Taking as a starting point some of the fundamental themes in his work, this work carries impregnated in its chords the wind, the sea, the volcanic stone and the silences of the island. The combination of all these elements results in a careful dramaturgy in which, at times, the fine line that divides reality and fiction seems to blur. There is thus space for the viewer to decide whether what happens could be, or not, a reference to the work and experiences of José Saramago in Lanzarote.
The work will be represented on a double occasion. The first is next Friday, November 4 at 8:00 p.m. The second, on November 5, also at 8:00 p.m. Both performances will take place at the Víctor Fernández Gopar "El Salinero" Theater.
