Post by Bozur on Jul 13, 2008 14:00:49 GMT -5
Culture Under Summer Stars
By ANDREW FERREN
The annual festival Veranos de la Villa stages concerts, dance performances, opera productions and film screenings in some of the city’s most beautiful parks and plazas.
AS the capital of a country known for its beaches, landlocked Madrid has very few rites of summer — unless you count complaining about the heat. The city’s blazing sunshine and 100-degree temperatures can seem heavenly for those visiting from colder, wetter climes. But Madrileños talk of summer as a time of survival and tend to just draw the curtains and stay indoors until the sun dips below the horizon and it’s safe to go back outside.
Thus the annual Veranos de la Villa (Summer in the City) festival, an after-dark and mostly outdoor affair, gets locals out for their daily dose of strolling and socializing. With events that include concerts, dance performances, opera productions and film screenings, all staged under the stars in some of the city’s most beautiful parks and plazas, the festival has become a beloved summer ritual. And it’s gaining momentum with more than 40 performances more than last year, for a total of 180 events between July 1 and Aug. 24.
The range and quality of what’s offered more than fills the cultural void created as the city’s main performing arts troupes wind down for summer vacation. Headliners this summer include names like Rubén Blades and Macy Gray, as well as more varied talents like the fado innovator Mariza, the Brazilian bossa nova stars Maria Creuza and Toquinho, the Venezuelan heartthrob Carlos Baute, and the flamenco singer Estrella Morente. And that’s just in one location, the central patio of the Conde Duque Cultural Center, a huge 18th-century military barracks turned thriving arts center. Tickets for concerts are 20 to 70 euros, or about $32 to $111 at $1.59 to the euro.
With the white marble Palacio Royal gleaming in the background, the Gardens of Sabatini — perhaps Madrid’s most picture-perfect park — becomes the stage for outdoor nighttime performances of the classic comic operas known as zarzuelas, in July. In August, the gardens will be the site of a flamenco festival with performances by legends like Enrique Morente and Antonio Canales. Most events begin at 10 p.m. and are less than 30 euros.
Free sunset classical concerts are held several nights a week near the palace, in the very grand Plaza de Oriente at the western edge of the old city, ratcheting up the already festive atmosphere of one of city’s liveliest places to promenade.
The slightly grittier Plaza Sanchez Bustillo, just in front of the main entrance of the Reina Sofía museum of modern and contemporary art, is the site of free evening contemporary dance performances. Lovers of classical theater in Spanish should head to the Matadero, Madrid’s newest cutting-edge arts center, where this summer “Troilus and Cressida” and “the Trojan Women” are being staged.
Perhaps the most beloved summer-in-the-city pastime is also the most old-school, the festival of outdoor cinema celebrating its 25th anniversary this year in the Parque de la Bombilla, where some 200 films will be screened (usually three per night on separate screens) under the stars as viewers cool down with beers and tapas of the classic Spanish omelet known as of tortilla española. Summer never felt so good.
For complete schedule and ticket information, www.esmadrid.com offers a calendar function that lists every event staged on any given day during the festival.
travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/spain/madrid/overview.html
By ANDREW FERREN
The annual festival Veranos de la Villa stages concerts, dance performances, opera productions and film screenings in some of the city’s most beautiful parks and plazas.
AS the capital of a country known for its beaches, landlocked Madrid has very few rites of summer — unless you count complaining about the heat. The city’s blazing sunshine and 100-degree temperatures can seem heavenly for those visiting from colder, wetter climes. But Madrileños talk of summer as a time of survival and tend to just draw the curtains and stay indoors until the sun dips below the horizon and it’s safe to go back outside.
Thus the annual Veranos de la Villa (Summer in the City) festival, an after-dark and mostly outdoor affair, gets locals out for their daily dose of strolling and socializing. With events that include concerts, dance performances, opera productions and film screenings, all staged under the stars in some of the city’s most beautiful parks and plazas, the festival has become a beloved summer ritual. And it’s gaining momentum with more than 40 performances more than last year, for a total of 180 events between July 1 and Aug. 24.
The range and quality of what’s offered more than fills the cultural void created as the city’s main performing arts troupes wind down for summer vacation. Headliners this summer include names like Rubén Blades and Macy Gray, as well as more varied talents like the fado innovator Mariza, the Brazilian bossa nova stars Maria Creuza and Toquinho, the Venezuelan heartthrob Carlos Baute, and the flamenco singer Estrella Morente. And that’s just in one location, the central patio of the Conde Duque Cultural Center, a huge 18th-century military barracks turned thriving arts center. Tickets for concerts are 20 to 70 euros, or about $32 to $111 at $1.59 to the euro.
With the white marble Palacio Royal gleaming in the background, the Gardens of Sabatini — perhaps Madrid’s most picture-perfect park — becomes the stage for outdoor nighttime performances of the classic comic operas known as zarzuelas, in July. In August, the gardens will be the site of a flamenco festival with performances by legends like Enrique Morente and Antonio Canales. Most events begin at 10 p.m. and are less than 30 euros.
Free sunset classical concerts are held several nights a week near the palace, in the very grand Plaza de Oriente at the western edge of the old city, ratcheting up the already festive atmosphere of one of city’s liveliest places to promenade.
The slightly grittier Plaza Sanchez Bustillo, just in front of the main entrance of the Reina Sofía museum of modern and contemporary art, is the site of free evening contemporary dance performances. Lovers of classical theater in Spanish should head to the Matadero, Madrid’s newest cutting-edge arts center, where this summer “Troilus and Cressida” and “the Trojan Women” are being staged.
Perhaps the most beloved summer-in-the-city pastime is also the most old-school, the festival of outdoor cinema celebrating its 25th anniversary this year in the Parque de la Bombilla, where some 200 films will be screened (usually three per night on separate screens) under the stars as viewers cool down with beers and tapas of the classic Spanish omelet known as of tortilla española. Summer never felt so good.
For complete schedule and ticket information, www.esmadrid.com offers a calendar function that lists every event staged on any given day during the festival.
travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/spain/madrid/overview.html