Teatro Real

Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) or simply El Real, as it is known colloquially, is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 and inaugurated on 19 November 1850, it closed in 1925 and reopened in 1997 with a capacity of 1,746 seats. Today, the Teatro Real opera is one of the great theaters of Europe and its seasons are home productions involving leading figures of the international singing, musical direction, stage direction and dance. The theater also offers guided tours in several languages, including the auditorium, stage, workshops and rehearsal rooms.

History

Founded by King Ferdinand VII in 1818, and 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).

Antonio Gades

Antonio Gades (14 November 1936 – 20 July 2004) was a Spanish flamenco dancer and choreographer (born Antonio Esteve Ródenas in Elda, Alicante, Spain). He helped to popularise the art form on the international stage. His most notable works included dance adaptations of Prosper Merimée's Carmen and Federico García Lorca's Blood Wedding (Bodas de Sangre), as well as a feature-length adaptation of Manuel de Falla's 23-minute ballet El Amor Brujo. In the 1990s, he toured the world with his show Fuenteovejuna, based on Lope de Vega's play of the same name. He collaborated closely with the Spanish director Carlos Saura in the filming of these adaptations, and also with Cristina Hoyos, one of the most prolific contemporary female flamenco dancers.

Gades also co-founded and became the artistic director of the Spanish National Ballet (Ballet Nacional de España) in 1978. He died in Madrid after suffering from cancer for a long time. About six weeks before his death, he had been decorated with the "Order of José Marti", one of the highest honors of Cuba, by the Cuban leader Fidel Castro, in Havana, Cuba. In 2004 his ashes were interred at the Mausoleum of the Frank País Second Eastern Front, a memorial cemetery in Santiago de Cuba.

Madrid

Madrid (/məˈdrɪd/, Spanish: [maˈðɾid], locally: [maˈðɾiθ, -ˈðɾi]) is a south-western European city, the capital of Spain, and the largest municipality of the Community of Madrid. The population of the city is almost 3.2 million with a metropolitan area population of around 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-largest in the European Union after London and Paris. The city spans a total of 604.3 km² (233.3 sq mi).

The city is located on the Manzanares River in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid (which comprises the city of Madrid, its conurbation and extended suburbs and villages); this community is bordered by the autonomous communities of Castile and León and Castile-La Mancha. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic and cultural centre of Spain. The current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid.

Alejandro Fernández

Alejandro Fernández Abarca (Spanish pronunciation: [aleˈxandro feɾˈnandes]; born 24 April 1971) is a Mexican singer.

Nicknamed as "El Potrillo" (The Colt) by the media and his fans, he has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Alejandro is the son of the ranchera singer Vicente Fernández. He originally specialized in traditional, earthy forms of Mexican folk music, such as mariachi and ranchera. He has branched out into pop music with great success.

Career

Early years

His first public appearance was in 1976 in one of his father's shows. Alejandro was meant to perform the song "Alejandra" but in the middle of the song he forgot the lyrics, started crying, and suffered a panic attack. His father Vicente Fernandez got on stage and helped by singing along with him.

Fernández released his first album, Alejandro Fernandez under Sony Music. The main hits were "Necesito olvidarla", "Brumas" and "Equivocadamente". With this material, Alejandro began a tour in Mexico and some cities of the United States. In 1993, he performed with his father in a concert at the Palacio de los Deportes, and he continued for a season at the famous Teatro Blanquita of Mexico City. The same year Fernández released the successful Piel De Niña, directed by Pedro Ramires. The songs "Piel de niña", "A la vera del camino", and "Cascos ligeros" are some of the hits of the album. At the Lo Nuestro Awards of 1993 Fernández was nominated for Male Artist, New Artist and Regional Mexican Album of the Year for his debut album, winning none.

Teatro

Teatro may refer to: