Montserrat Martí, daughter of the legendary soprano Montserrat Caballé and the baritone Luis Santana from Zamora, present their symphonic concert alongside the Orchestra of the Polytechnic University of Madrid conducted by maestro Pablo Puga.
The chosen program will vary depending on the time of year, with a wide repertoire of opera and zarzuela available for summer/autumn, and for December/january an extraordinary Christmas or New Year concert featuring a succession of waltzes, dances, and operatic excerpts by various composers, including works by Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Puccini, Lara, and Rossini, among others.
MONTSERRAT MARTÍ CABALLÉ - Soprano
She made her operatic debut at the Hamburg State Opera as Zerlina in Don Giovanni: "She sang a delightful Zerlina" (Die Welt). "She was a Zerlina with a pure and solid soprano voice" (Hamburger Anzeigen und Nachrichten). "The main attraction of the night was Montserrat Martí's debut: an impressive Zerlina. A young soprano with a well-projected voice and solid technique" (Das Opernglas).
Since then, she has returned to Hamburg for another series of performances of Don Giovanni. She made her debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona as Liu in Turandot, hailed in the press as "the birth of a star" (La Vanguardia – October 29, 1999) and "the birth of a new diva" (ABC – October 28, 1999).
Montserrat Martí has sung various concerts and recitals in Europe, including at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Musikhalle in Hamburg, Musikverein in Vienna, Salle Gaveau in Paris, the International Music Festival at Castell de Peralada, and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and the Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre in St. Petersburg. She has also performed Mozart's Requiem, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner, and has recorded and performed with Vangelis in the crossover repertoire. In recent seasons, she has performed La Clemenza di Tito at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Palau de la Música in Valencia, La Vierge by Massenet at the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni.
LUIS SANTANA - Baritone
This Zamoran baritone began his musical studies at the age of five, studying with some of the greatest masters such as Juana Peñalver, Consuelo Barrio, María Teresa Manzano, Miguel Zanetti, and currently with the eminent Spanish tenor Pedro Lavirgen and with Teresa Berganza.
He has performed in the most important theaters and concert halls in our country: Gran Teatro del Liceo, Auditorio Nacional de Música, Fundación Juan March, Auditorio de Zaragoza, Maestranza de Sevilla, Principal de Alicante, Cervantes de Málaga, Miguel Delibes and Teatro Calderón de Valladolid, Romea de Murcia, Auditorio de León, Fundación Príncipe de Asturias, Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid, Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña, Gran Teatro de Córdoba, Gran Teatro de Huelva, Falla de Cádiz, Batel de Cartagena, Principal de Vitoria, Victoria Eugenia de San Sebastián, Palacio de Congresos de Granada, Mérida, Circo de Albacete, Auditorio de Cuenca, San Lorenzo del Escorial, Maestro Padilla de Almería, etc...
Cities such as Rome, Paris, Milan, Naples, Budapest, Toulon, Bucharest, Donetsk, Iași, Brașov, Lviv, Rousse, Riga, Porto, Lisbon, Vienna, Eisenach...
He has been conducted by batons of the stature of García, Roa, Frizzi, Osa, Wilson, Alapont, Lencko, Vasilenko, Diadura, Monsalve, Abelló, Sainz Alfaro, Ortega, Popa, Mesa, Todorov, and many others....
PABLO PUGA - Director
Pablo Puga, at an early age, refined his conducting technique under the guidance of renowned conductors. His podium training began in 2016 at the "Opus 23" Academy under the mentorship of two highly respected conductors, Miguel Romea and Andrés Salado. He balanced his conducting studies with his final years of violin studies at the Professional Conservatory in his hometown, Vigo, at the School of Advanced Musical Studies in Santiago de Compostela, and later at the prestigious Higher Conservatory of the Basque Country "Musikene."
His passion for his instrument led him to study with masters such as Tatiana Samouil, Andoni Mercero, Yun-Peng Zhao, Edita Shulman, and Ildikó Oltai, with whom he refined his violin technique and his vision within the orchestra, contributing to the clarity of his gestures in front of any orchestral ensemble.
In his orchestral activity as a violinist, he stands out for his seven years as a member of the Joven Sinfónica de Galicia Orchestra, where he worked under conductors such as Alberto Zedda, Dima Slobodeniouk, Roberto González-Monjas, and Krzysztof Penderecki, among many others. After serving as the principal conductor of the Xove Orquestra Sinfónica de Pontevedra for a year, he is currently the principal and artistic director of the Symphony Orchestra of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, with a season at the National Auditorium of Music.
The Polytechnic University of Madrid Orchestra was founded in 2016 as an initiative by Alejandro Cantalapiedra, who, along with several university students, identified the need to form a group that would allow them to combine their studies with their great passion for music. Since then, the Orchestra has performed concerts in various locations across Spain and Europe, and is currently made up of over 80 musicians from different backgrounds and university degrees, committed to artistic excellence with the aim of continuing to grow and take on new challenges. Following its debut at the National Auditorium in 2019, the Orchestra regularly performs here as part of the UPM Symphony Cycle, having performed, among others, Beethoven's Third and Ninth Symphonies, as well as Mahler's Second Symphony. It has also collaborated on several occasions with highly renowned soloists such as singer Mónica Naranjo or violinist Ara Malikian. The UPM Symphony Orchestra has performed in other major national venues such as the Lienzo Norte Auditorium in Ávila, the Audience Palace in Soria, and the ADDA in Alicante, as well as in large venues such as the WiZink Center or the Palau Sant Jordi.
NEW YEAR'S CONCERT PROGRAM
*PART I*
P. I. TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893): “The Nutcracker”, Op. 71 (selection)
II. Dances
a. March
b. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
c. Russian Dance (Trepak)
d. Arabian Dance
e. Chinese Dance
f. Dance of the Reed Flutes
III. Waltz of the Flowers
J. STRAUSS II (1825-1899): Voices of Spring
G. PUCCINI (1858-1924): Nessun Dorma, Turandot
G. PUCCINI (1858-1924): O mio babbino caro
*PART II*
J. STRAUSS II (1825-1899): Emperor Waltz
G. PUCCINI (1858-1924): Vissi d’arte, Tosca
G. ROSSINI (1792-1868): Largo al factotum, The Barber of Seville
J. STRAUSS II (1825-1899) J. STRAUSS (1827-1870): Pizzicato Polka, op.23
W. A. MOZART (1756-1791): Là ci darem la mano, Don Giovanni
Traditional Christmas Carols:
- Silent Night
- O Come All Ye Faithful
- Away in a Manger
- The First Nowell
REDUCED TEMPLATE 1 UPM ORCHESTRA
Flutes + Piccolo: 3
Oboes: 2
Clarinets: 2
Bassoons: 2
Horns: 4
Trumpets: 2
Trombones: 3
Tuba: 1
Percussion: 2
Harp: 1
Violins 1: 8
Violins 2: 6
Violas: 6
Cellos: 6
Double Basses: 2
TOTAL: 51 (including the conductor)
REDUCED TEMPLATE 2 ORCHESTRA UPM
Flutes: 2
Oboes: 2
Clarinets: 2
Bassoons: 2
Horns: 4
Trumpets: 2
Trombones: 3
Percussion: 2
Violins 1: 7
Violins 2: 6
Violas: 5
Cellos: 4
Double Basses: 1
TOTAL: 43 (including the conductor)
No less attractive was the artistic contribution of baritone Luis Santana, who fully demonstrated his vocal values, with a voice of great dynamism and color. In the high registers (“Di Provenza”, from La Traviata, and “Canción del Toreador”, from Carmen), one could perceive the sound characteristic closest to the timbral quality of a tenor. Santana's voice has a warm timbre of great body, to which the singer adds a precise dose of pathos and emotion. In the duets with M. Martí (“La ci darem la mano”, from Don Giovanni, “Brindisi Libiamo”, from La Traviata, and “Habanera”, from Don Gil Alcalá), Santana showed impressive flexibility and adequate dynamism.
The JOST, under the baton of maestro Arronis, impressed with very good attention from the young musicians during the difficult art of accompanying the singers. The young musicians also shone in orchestral performances, such as in the “Intermezzo” from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, where the orchestra’s strings maintained delicacy and subtlety, conveying a sense of longing without sentimentality. The fragments of the zarzuelas “El Bateo” and “Los Leandras” were like peculiar interludes with a cheerful character and full of temperament, typical of the zarzuela. The successful performances by the soloists and the orchestra provoked an unusually warm reception from the audience, which forced the artists to give two encores: the duet from “Verbena de la Paloma” and “Brindis Libiamo”.
A very special gala with soprano Monserrat Martí Caballé, daughter of Monserrat Caballé, alongside mezzo-soprano Beatriz Gimeno, the incredible baritone Luis Santana, and no less spectacular Antonio López at the piano, the latter two once again present on this spectacular night.
After the uncertainty of the previous edition in which rain almost marred the night, this time everything was very different. A warm night that accompanied these unique voices, which were able to shine in all their splendor.
The spectators were amazed by the staging and burst into applause at the end of each piece, to the delight and pride of the performers.
The seminary cloister was packed, with audiences on balconies and even long queues forming to enjoy the evening.
The Tomelloso Municipal Theatre undoubtedly experienced a magical evening last night. It was with the last concert of the year in which the Guillermo González Promúsica Association celebrated its 20th Anniversary. Montserrat Martí, Luis Santana and Antonio López offered a recital of opera and zarzuela (magnificent, brilliant, entertaining) which, despite the football, managed to fill the stalls of the Tomelloso coliseum and make the audience enjoy a superb night of music.
Miguel Huertas, in the presentation, anticipated a formidable recital (and he was not at all wrong) by a Catalan, a Castilian and an Andalusian in La Mancha. Music, as we know, does not understand fanaticism. The performers were at ease and that was noticeable, and moreover they were able to convey it to the audience (Who said that the people of Tomelloso are cold?). With complicity and rapport they sang, laughed and even danced. Up to four encores, no less, they offered to a devoted theatre that applauded enthusiastically.
The night started well, with "L’amor mio", a song by Donizetti with the velvety voice of Montserrat Martí. The soprano continued with Rossini's "Bolero" to give way to the baritone. Santana sang two pieces by Rossini, "Quia voce, quia note" and "Fioraia Fiorentina". And the first duet of the night, "La ci darem la mano", from Mozart's "Don Giovanni", was superb.
After the applause came the first programme change. Martí Caballé sang the well-known aria "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi". The singer took us to places where only music can do and, of course, raised applause and cheers from the audience. Luis Santana dedicated the next piece, "Di Provenza il mar, il suol" from "La Traviata", to his teacher Pedro Lavirgen's wife, "who is very ill". The baritone left us open-mouthed with his register. Another piece from "La Traviata", the duet of Violetta and Germont, put an end to the first part, to the applause of the audience.