Bécquer and Quevedo: Love and Death is a recital like no other you've heard. Pedro Casablanc has made a selection of excerpts, poetry, and prose, from both classic Spanish authors that he reads and interprets. Casablanc is accompanied live by Jorge Rivera, who has created the sound space and over 20 original pieces, one for each excerpt that Casablanc will recite to the audience. The music blends influences from rock, traditional, classical, or electronic music in an eclectic expression that gives prominence at all times to the spoken word, reinforcing it through addition or contrast.
Rivera was commissioned by Casablanc to create music “that would not come anywhere near the Baroque style”. Therefore, the pieces are created with sound effects, electronic textures, riffs, and distorted instruments in an eclectic expression, with ritualistic and obsessive cadence, which gives predominance at all times to the spoken word, reinforcing it either by addition or contrast. “I was interested in contrasts,” Rivera explains, “and that each piece would attend to the atmosphere of the text and the cadence of Pedro reciting each of the texts. The influences range from rock, traditional, to classical or electronic music.”
Pedro Casablanc
One of Spain's most iconic faces in theater, film, and television, with over 60 stage productions performed or directed and nearly 150 film titles alongside directors such as Almodóvar, Amenábar, or Isabel Coixet, as well as international projects with Jean-Jacques Annaud, Steven Soderbergh, or John Madden. He has been awarded multiple prizes from the Madrid Actors' Union, the Ondas Prize, the San Jordi Cinematography Prize, two Asecan awards, and a Goya nomination for his portrayal of Luis Bárcenas in the film B, la película. In his directing work, he combines his cinematic and acting expertise with his Fine Arts studies.
Jorge Rivera
Graduated in Stage Direction and Dramaturgy from ESAD Málaga, certified researcher in Applied Creativity (Psychology), and holds a master's degree in Experience Economy from Roskilde University. He has taught theater history at private schools in Denmark, including GITIS (Moscow Art Theatre). He has directed over 50 productions of various kinds in Spain and Denmark, where he also played in more than ten bands and composed music for theatrical performances. After 15 years in Scandinavia, he returns to Spain to balance film directing with theatrical and other projects.
