The Teatro Real (literally Royal Theatre) or simply El Real (as it is known colloquially), is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain.

After thirty-two years of planning and construction, a Royal Order on 7 May 1850 decreed the immediate completion of the "Teatro de Oriente" and the building works were finished within five months. The Opera House, located just in front of the Palacio Real, the official residence of the Queen who ordered the construction of the theatre, Isabel II, was finally inaugurated on 19 November 1850, with Donizetti's La Favorite. In 1863, Giuseppe Verdi visited the theatre for the Spanish premiere of his La Forza del Destino. In 1925, the Ballets Russes of Diaghilev performed in the theatre with the presence of Nijinsky and Stravinsky).

From 1867 it housed the Madrid Royal Conservatory until 1925 when a Royal Order on 6 December called for eviction owing to the damage that the construction of the Metro de Madrid had caused to the building). The theatre reopened in 1966 as a concert theatre and the main concert venue of the Spanish National Orchestra and the RTVE Symphony Orchestra. In 1969, the 14th Eurovision Song Contest was held at the theatre, featuring an onstage metal sculpture created by surrealist Spanish artist, Salvador Dalí.

Paco de Lucía, born Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gómez (in Algeciras, Cádiz on December 21, 1947), is a Spanish flamenco guitarist and composer. Author Dorien Ross claims in his book "Return to "A" that de Lucía is one of the finest guitarists in the world and the greatest guitarist of the flamenco genre. He is noted in particular for his dexterity, technique and strength in his right hand, capable of executing extremely fast and fluent picados.

He is a leading proponent of the Modern Flamenco style, and is one of the very few flamenco guitarists who has also successfully crossed over into other genres of music such as classical and jazz. He is the winner of the 2004 Prince of Asturias Awards in Arts and in 2010 was awarded an honorary doctorate by Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Paco de Lucía was born Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gómez in Algeciras, a city in the province of Cádiz, at the southernmost tip of Spain directly in front of the Rock of Gibraltar. The youngest of the five children of flamenco guitarist Antonio Sánchez, and brother of flamenco singer Pepe de Lucía and flamenco guitarist Ramón de Algeciras. In the documentary Paco de Lucía-Light and Shade: A Portrait he tells how, when he was playing in the streets as a young boy, there were many Pacos and Pablos so in order to distinguish them people would add the name of the boy's mother. This is how he came to have the name Paco de Lucia. (Paco de Lucía album)|Luzia]] .

David Bisbal Ferré (born in Almería, Spain on June 5, 1979) is a Grammy-winning Spanish pop singer. He gained his initial fame as a runner up on the interactive reality television show Operación Triunfo.

He has since released four studio albums, all of which topped the Spanish Albums Chart, in addition to recording a number of live albums. He's toured throughout Europe and Latin America and is now considered to be a crossover international artist.

Until 2012, David Bisbal has sold more than 5 million records in Spain and America, getting 35 Platinum albums, 17 gold and 2 diamond. 'Corazón Latino' and 'Bulería' treasure each one IFPI Platinum Award, official certification for selling over 1 million copies across Europe.

David Bisbal left school early and worked in a platinum and flower nursery. He was encouraged by his colleagues to audition for a music contest and he initially became part of Orquesta Expresiones where he continued singing and dancing.

In October 2001 he auditioned for the first ever edition of Operación Triunfo (Spanish equivalent of Star Academy) where he was accepted and was one of the 16 finalists. The grand prize was the chance of representing Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest. He came second in the final losing to Rosa López. She went on to sing Europe's Living a Celebration for Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 (ESC) competition.

Bill Viola (born January 25, 1951) is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media. His works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human experiences such as birth, death and aspects of consciousness.

Viola grew up in Queens, New York, and Westbury, New York. He attended P.S. 20 Clinton Hill School, in Flushing, where he was captain of the TV Squad. On vacation in the mountains with his family, he nearly drowned in a lake, an experience he describes as “… the most beautiful world I’ve ever seen in my life” and “without fear,” and “peaceful”

In 1973, Viola graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts. He studied in the Experimental Studios of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, including the Synapse experimental program, which evolved into CitrusTV.

His first job on graduation was as a video technician at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse. From 1973 to 1980, he studied and performed with composer David Tudor in the new music group "Rainforest" (later called "Composers Inside Electronics"). From 1974-1976, Viola worked as technical director at Art/Tapes/22, a pioneering video studio in Florence, Italy where he encountered video artists Nam June Paik, Bruce Nauman, and Vito Acconci. From 1976-1983, he was artist-in-residence at WNET Thirteen Television Laboratory in New York. In 1976 and 1977, he traveled to the Solomon Islands, Java, and Indonesia to record traditional performing arts.

Henry Purcell ( /ˈpɜrsəl/; 10 September 1659 (?)– 21 November 1695), was an English composer. Although incorporating Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, Purcell's legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers; no other native-born English composer approached his fame until Edward Elgar.

Purcell was born in St Ann's Lane Old Pye Street, Westminster. Henry Purcell Senior, whose older brother Thomas Purcell (d. 1682) was also a musician, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and sang at the coronation of King Charles II of England. Henry the elder had three sons: Edward, Henry and Daniel. Daniel Purcell (d. 1717), the youngest of the brothers, was also a prolific composer who wrote the music for much of the final act of The Indian Queen after Henry Purcell's death. Henry Purcell's family lived just a few hundred yards west of Westminster Abbey from the year 1659 and onward.

After his father's death in 1664, Purcell was placed under the guardianship of his uncle who showed him great affection and kindness. Thomas was himself a gentleman of His Majesty's chapel, and arranged for Henry to be admitted as a chorister. Henry studied first under Captain Henry Cooke (d. 1672),Master of the Children, and afterwards under Pelham Humfrey (d. 1674), Cooke's successor. Henry was a chorister in the Chapel Royal until his voice broke in 1673, when he became assistant to the organ-builder John Hingston, who held the post of keeper of wind instruments to the King.