Compañía Khea Ziater: Madrigales de Claudio Monteverdi

Third day of the cycle that remembers the Italian composer, Claudio Monteverdi (Cremona, 1567 – Venice 1643), on the 450th anniversary of his birth. Under the orders of Alex Gerediaga, the Khea Ziater Company proposes a fresh and different approach to Monteverdi. Its ever brave and innovative vision from the stage maanagement (recently we saw its brilliant performance of Malmö at the Arriaga) will certainly surprise   the audience of this show, which is inspired on the Fourth Book of Madrigals for Five Voices, the fourth of the eight books of Madrigals by Monteverdi, published in Venice in 1603 and with texts based on poems by Gian Battista Guarini, Ottavio Rinuccini and Giovanni Boccaccio.

The Fourth Book of Madrigals by Monteverdi and its haunting beauty become the sound sustenance that feeds the silent storm of the main character. The playwright, Alex Gerediaga himself, examines the film narrative to seek the keys for his staging, remaining loyal to the usual line of Khea Ziater. Indeed, the main challenge for the company has been to make good use of its resources when it comes to integrating them with what Monteverdi’s music offers. Therefore, it has tactfully combined and woven the scenes with its tools: video, photography, sound, light, texts and, of course, the Madrigals.

On stage, an actress, Arrate Etxeberria, and a vocal group, Segreto a voci, who have come together especially for this show, conducted by Carlos Imaz and made up of the sopranos Ana Otxoa and Ana Begoña Hernández, the mezzosoprano Alicia Manceras, the tenor Koldo Villar and the bass, Mikel Zabala. As a result of their performance, the audience will be moved and shaken with a show that deals with the issues inherent in the human being and is based on a pressing philosophic dilemma: the solitude of people faced with the decision to live or die.

Synopsis

A woman faced with the abyss of her solitude. She is faced with the decision to live or die. The voices of the angels and the demons vienen a acabarla. Death as the last love, as the final romance that is incubated in the silence of the heart.

Cycle devoted to Monteverdi

This cycle, promoted by the Arriaga Theatre to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the birth of Monteverdi, is specifically devoted to the Italian composer’s Magistral phase, which he developed by publishing eight books, of which the first four are going to be performed this season.

Claudio Giovanni Monteverdi (Cremona, 1567 – Venice 1643) is the most important figure in the transition from Renaissance to Baroque music. He composed what is considered to be the first ever opera: Orfeo. His compositions perfectly combine harmonies and dissonance, obtaining an exquisite sound.