Medea / Médée By Luigi Cherubini

Location
Anfiteatro, Plaza Margarita Xirgu, s/n, 06800 Mérida, Badajoz, Spain
Programme
Download BrochureOverview
The immolation of Medea in the temple, burned by the avenging fury of the flames, constitutes one of the most overwhelming and visionary moments in the history of opera. This was recognized by Wagner – a self-confessed admirer of this work – when he replicated it at the close of his monumental Twilight of the Gods, and this was also recognized by Maria Callas, who with her unmatched dramatic talent turned this almost forgotten title into one of the most personal milestones of his career. Cherubini’s genius reigned in republican France in the 1790s and made a deep impression on the young Beethoven, although, at the turn of the century, his name fell behind those of Spontini and Rossini, and he gained fame as a moody and conservative author. Noble and majestic like a sculpture by Canova or a fresco by David, but internally shaken by the overwhelming personality of its protagonist, the opera Medée offers unsuspected possibilities of scenic and dramatic development in accordance with “the harmonic ravings, the barbaric transitions and the exaggerated chromaticism.” » which – according to an early critic of the work – treasures its score.
Programme
Recommended age:
from 12 years
Duration:
Act 1: 60 minutes
Intermission: 25 minutes
Acts 2 and 3: 65 minutes
Artists
Artists
CAST
Ángeles Blancas
Noah Stewart
Esteban Baltazar
Nancy Fabiola Herrera
Leonor Bonilla
Mercedes Gancedo
Karina Demurova
Cosmin Marius
Daniel Mellado
Max Iniesta
Carla Rodríguez
Ismael Palacios
Verónica Moreno
Maria Pia Piscitelli
ACTORS
Julen Alba
Carolina Andrés
David Blanco
Rafa Delgado
Lucía Díaz
Tarik Saornil
TECHNICAL-ARTISTIC CREW
Libretto by François-Benoît Hoffmann
Recitals by Alan Curtis
Orquesta de Extremadura (OEX)
Conducted by: Andrés Salado
Extremadura Choir
Conducted by: Amaya Añúa
Stage and scenography direction: Paco Azorín
Clothing design: Ana Garay
Audiovisual and lighting design: Pedro Chamizo
Scenic movement: Carlos Martos de la Vega
Management assistant: Álex Larumbe
Historical-mythological advisor: Pedro Sáenz Almeida
Overview
The immolation of Medea in the temple, burned by the avenging fury of the flames, constitutes one of the most overwhelming and visionary moments in the history of opera. This was recognized by Wagner – a self-confessed admirer of this work – when he replicated it at the close of his monumental Twilight of the Gods, and this was also recognized by Maria Callas, who with her unmatched dramatic talent turned this almost forgotten title into one of the most personal milestones of his career. Cherubini’s genius reigned in republican France in the 1790s and made a deep impression on the young Beethoven, although, at the turn of the century, his name fell behind those of Spontini and Rossini, and he gained fame as a moody and conservative author. Noble and majestic like a sculpture by Canova or a fresco by David, but internally shaken by the overwhelming personality of its protagonist, the opera Medée offers unsuspected possibilities of scenic and dramatic development in accordance with “the harmonic ravings, the barbaric transitions and the exaggerated chromaticism.” » which – according to an early critic of the work – treasures its score.
Programme
Recommended age:
from 12 years
Duration:
Act 1: 60 minutes
Intermission: 25 minutes
Acts 2 and 3: 65 minutes