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King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain were in
attendance on June 3 as a gala concert conducted by Riccardo Muti
inaugurated the new Teatro Auditorio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial
near Madrid.
Muti conducted arias from Verdi's La forza del destino
and Don Carlo, as well as the Stabat Mater and Te Deum from Verdi's
Quattro pezzi sacri with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio
Musicale Fiorentino; soloists included soprano Barbara Frittoli,
mezzo Sonia Ganassi and bass Ferruccio Furlanetto.
According to Madrid's La Razón, the new venue, about 41 km
northwest of the capital, took five years to build and cost
approximately €65 million. Designed by José Luis Tamayo, the
building is constructed with granite and has a 1,200-seat main hall
and a 300-seat chamber music hall.
San Lorenzo de El Escorial is famous for its Royal Monastery and
Palace, which were built between 1563 and 1584 at the command of
King Philip II. The complex, a major tourist draw which attracts
many day-trippers from Madrid, houses a museum containing
masterworks by Titian, Tintoretto, El Greco and Velázquez, among
others.
The inaugural Festival de San Lorenzo de El Escorial runs until
August 1 and includes opera, ballet and zarzuela. The lineup
includes, among others, the English Baroque Soloists, the Monteverdi
Choir and John Eliot Gardiner performing Mozart's Requiem; Mozart's
Magic Flute directed by Daniele Abbado with Colin Davis leading the
London Symphony Orchestra; Christoph Eschenbach leading the
Orchestre de Paris in Wagner's Siegfried, and the Royal Ballet
(Covent Garden) performing Romeo and Juliet.
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