Madrid Jazz Festival

Once again jazz musicians from across the globe will be in the city for another edition of Madrid Jazz Festival (2nd November- 4th December). Now in its 28th year, it is considered one of the world's best known festivals of its kind and this year's promises to be another great edition with 27 performances during the month long festival period. With performers coming from a wide range of countries including Cuba, Senegal, Mexico and Poland, there will a diverse mixture of jazz styles on offer which won't disappoint the most avid of fans. The concerts will be held at various locations in the city. You can see the full programme here as well as where to get tickets, however info only in Spanish (even though it describes itself as an "international" festival).

MTV Madrid Beach

Fans of live music are in for a real treat this weekend as there will be a free music festival taking place in the newly created Madrid Rio zone of the city. The lineup with feature both Spanish and international indie groups including The Casters, Zombie Kids, Delorean and Miss Caffeina, and the event will be run in conjunction with MTV.

The festival runs 1-3 September and the concerts will begin at 9pm.

Veranos de la Villa- summer concerts

Every summer the city hall puts on a series on concerts known as the Veranos de la Villa, which takes places across different spaces across the city and attracts artists from different styles of music and dance from all corners of the globe. There will be many events taking place- far too many to list here, but here are a few picks:

29/6- 10/7 Swan Lake on ice (El lago de los cisnes) at the Sabatini Gardens. It may be scorching hot, but this performance on ice looks great for the family. It's performed by the Imperial Ice Stars, a famous ice skating performance company, who have toured the world with this production. In case you're wondering whether the ice will melt, the performance takes place in a specially constructed theatre.

6/7 Lila Downs in concert at the Escenario de Puerta del Ángel. Lila Downs is an internationlly acclaimed Mexican folk singer, who rose to fame after the release of the film Frida, which featured her music. Well worth going to see as she has an incredibly powerful voice.

7/7 Miguel Poveda in concert at the Escenario de Puerta del Ángel. One of Spain's best loved contemporary flamenco stars, yet still performs in a very traditional way. Don't miss it if you want to see some real flamenco!

13/7 Camilo & Tomatito in concert at the Escenario de Puerta del Ángel. Camilo is a jazz musican from the Domincan Republic and Tomatito is one of Spain's best flamenco performers. Here they come together to perform an interesting concert of flamenco-jazz with a touch of latino.

13/7- 24/7 Agua, Azucarcillos y Aguadiente- La Verbena de la Paloma at the Sabatini Gardens. The Sabatini Gardens, next to the Royal Palace are the perfect place to catch a traditional zarzuela on a balmy summer night.

28/7 Afrocubism in concert at the Escenario de Puerta del Ángel. Afrocubism is a project between the Cuban legends the Buena Vista Social Club and a group of musicans from Mali, mixing latino and African styles. It certainly looks an interesting mix!

18/8- 28/8 The Barber of Sevilla at the Sabatini Gardens. Enjoy one of the world's best loved operas in the magical setting of the Royal Palace. It should be unforgettable.

There are many more events including flamenco, world music, opera and dance performances and to see the full programme to buy tickets, visit the Veranos de la Villa website (unfortunately all in Spanish).

A Taste of Portugal in Madrid

The first ever International Festival of Fado Music, traditional music from Portugal will be happening in Madrid this weekend, and there will be a number of events relating to Portuguese culture and gastronomy running in parallel to the festival. The 17, 18 and 19th June there will be concerts given by Carmo Carminho Rebelo de Andrade, Cuca Roseta and Carlos do Carmo, some of the greatest names in contemporary fado music at the Teatros del Canal. Attendees will have the chance to sample some typical Portuguese delicacies. We went along to the presentation of the festival and heard some of the songs which will be performed, and we can say that it is a very powerful and moving genre of music, which is performed from the soul. If you want to find out more, here's an article from Wikipedia. It is in someways similar to flamenco, yet contains elements of tango. Additional events taking place include a special Portuguese menu at the restaurante of the Teatros del Canal and the projection of four films relating to the fado culture (free entry). For more details about the events taking place and where to buy concert tickets, visit the Festival Fado Madrid blog.


Here's a taster:

Music festivals in Madrid

Alternative music fans are in for a treat with two music festivals this month in Madrid. This weekend (18/19 June), Heineken Día de la Música will be taking place at the Matadero de Madrid in Legazpi. International acts performing include Lykke Li, Caribou, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Crystal Fighters and Janelle Monáe, as well as Spanish artists such as Russian Red and Vetusta Morla. The two day pass costs 24€ plus booking fee, however day tickets can be bought for 15€.  The following weekend (June 24/25) DCode Festival will be held for the first time at the university campus. Acts confirmed include big names such as My Chemical Romance, Kasabian, The Vaccines, Crystal Castles and Sum 41. Weekend tickets cost 70€ plus booking fees.

 For more info about the festivals and to get your tickets see:

Día de la Música
DCode Festival

Suma Flamenca Festival 2011

Estrella Morente, daughter of flamenco legend Enrique Morente who passed away at the end of last year, will on Thursday 9th inaugurate this year's annual Suma Flamenca festival which is organised by the city hall of Madrid. Lasting nearly one month, this is one of the biggest flamenco festivals of its kind in Spain, and the flamenco performed here is a lot more authentic than many of the overpriced shows aimed at tourists. This year's lineup includes greats such as Rocío Molina, Niño Josele and El Cigala. The flamenco shows will take place across a number of venues in Madrid and ticket prices vary. To get more information about the shows and for tickets, see the Suma Flamenca website (in English). The festival ends on 2nd July.

Month of international rock concerts in Madrid

From 3rd- 24th July some of the world's best known rock stars will be in Madrid for a series of concerts known as Los Veranos de Villa, which will take place at the Escenario Puerta del Ángel. Artists performing include Kool & the Gang (3/7); Playing for Change (8/7); Pablo Alborán (9/7); Wynton Marsalis (11/7); Chicago (14/7); The Beach Boys (15/7); Mavis Staples (19/7); Return to Forever IV (22/7), Cassandra Wilson (23/7) y Cyndi Lauper (24/7). Ticket prices vary, but you can buy them online here.

Madrid Festival of Sacred Arts

The Madrid Sacred Art Festival, which has been running for over twenty years brings together sacred music, theatre and dance dating from the 14th century up to the present day. During the festival 34 events will be taking place in 23 venues in the Comunidad de Madrid, ranging from theatres to ancient churches. The festival is an international event, with performers coming to Madrid from eleven countries including the USA, France, Germany, Iran and Cuba. This year's programme will include hommage to the composer Liszt and as well as offerings from Greek, Persian and Mandigan cultures. Also the performance of Mozart's Requiem by the San Jerónimo el Real Choir with the Barbieri Chamber Orchestra is tipped to be a highlight.

The festival period is from 28th February-11th April at various locations across the city and Madrid region. Click here for the programme.

Mayca Teba in El Temperamento de Carmen

If you are going to be in Seville next Tuesday, Mayca Teba, a renowned Spanish sorpano will be giving a recital together with pianist Sergio Montero and guitarrist Tino van der Sman at the Iglesia de los Terceros. Teba is an international performer, having performed all over the world and recently with Plácido Domingo in Quatar. She also performs zarzuela around the world as well as in her native Spain. The event is sponsored by EMASESA 1011 Cultural

 

Date: Tuesday 22nd February 2011

Where: Iglesia de los Terceros, Calle Sol s/n in Seville

Time: 8pm, free entry until venue is full

Plácido Domingo's 70th Birthday Concerts

Spanish opera great Plácido Domingo will be giving a series of concerts alongside other international opera singers at the Teatro Real, Madrid to celebrate his 70th birthday this month. The performances take place on the 20th, 21st, 23rd, 25th and 27th of January and tickets start at 40€ from Entradas.com

Anni B Sweet end of tour concert in Madrid

Anni B Sweet is one of Spain's biggest singer song writers and soon will be releasing her album Start, Restart, Undo (Subterfuge 2009) across the world in the coming months. She has a beautiful voice and sings in perfect English. On Thursday 2nd December she is going to be giving one of her final performances in Spain at the Teatro Larra before embarking on a European tour.  Tickets for her Madrid show can be bought at ticktackticket.com and are 12€ or 15€ on the door. Here's the video of La La La for you to enjoy.



Video thanks to our friends at Subterfuge Records

Delicatessen presents 'Conciertos Íntimos' Las Meli and Paco Ortega & Jesus Márquez

Those interested in Latin music should not miss these two interesting concerts this weekend, which are part of the Delicatessen- Conciertos Íntimos series running at Teatros Madrid. Friday sees, Las Meli in concert, two  fantasic Cuban sisters who will be bringing the spirit of their homeland through song to audiences in Madrid. Paco Ortega & Jesus Márquez, two Andalucian folk singer songwriters will playing at Saturday's performance delighting audiences with typical southern styles and poetic lyrics.  

  

Address: Teatros Madrid, Avda. de la Ilustración in the Parque Vanguardia. Metro Avenida de la Ilustración.  The concerts are held in the café-bar.

When: Las Meli- Friday 12th Nov at 10pm, Paco Ortega & Jesus Márquez- Saturday 13th Nov at 10pm.

Ticket price: 10€ 

MTV EMA in Madrid- Linkin Park, Kings of Leon and Katy Perry In Concert

Madrid is gearing up to host the MTV European Music Awards, the biggest and glitziest music prize in Europe. Although getting an actual ticket to the awards might be out of the question for many, to compensate the organisers will be giving a huge free concert in Plaza de la Independencia (next to Puerta de Alcala) on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night will feature mainly Spanish artists like Fangoria, David Bisbal and El Efecto Mariposa and Sunday will see big name international stars Linkin Park and Katy Perry take to the stage. The concerts start at 6pm and finish around 10pm. Be warned that the area around Calle Alcalá will be closed off to traffic over the weekend so expect transport delays.

XXVII Madrid Jazz Festival

Jazz performers from all corners of the globe will be descending upon Madrid for this annual event, which takes place this month. It is going to be s musical journey as the promgramme includes typical klemzer, flamenco, Turkish and Indian styles of jazz. In total there will be twenty concerts featuring international jazz stars such as Wayne Shorter, Joe Lovano, Kenny Garrett and Rebekka Bakken. There will also be big Spanish names such as Miguel Poveda and Estrella Morente performing. One of the highlights promises to be the performance Afrocubism (11th Nov at the Teatro Price) which is an intreaging mix of Cuban styles with African beats. The concerts will be taking place at different locations across the city. On 2nd November- 20th November. You can see the programme here

Zarzuela- a guide

A zarzuela performance

Zarzuela is a type of opera which orginates in Spain and has been performed since the 17th century. It sometimes includes elements of dance and other types of song and is accompanied by an orchestra. The genre can be divided into two distinct periods; baroque (the earliest form) and romantic which dates from the mid 19th centry up to modern times. The name zarzuela comes from the Palacio de Zarzuela, a residence of the King of Spain and where it was first perfomed in the 1650s.

A poster for Vives's Doña Francisquita

Early pieces were influenced greatly by classical mythology and religion, whilst in the 18th century it became more influenced by Italian operatic styles and more traditional styles fell out of fashion. By the 19th century, zarzuelas became rather like costume dramas and told the tale of every day life as well as containing lots of popular slang and colloquialisms. As many people could not afford the cost of the theatre, smaller variety theatres sprang up so working class people too could enjoy perfomances. The popularity of zarzuela continued into the 20th centry, with significant figures such as Catalan born Amadeo Vives emerging. However with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil war in 1936, the genre began to decline rapidly and very little has been composed since then. It was perhaps the emergence of recordings by international opera stars such as Placido Domingo which saved zarzuela from extinction. The genre has also been exported to other Spanish speaking countries, notably Cuba and Mexico where performance styles have been mixed with local culture. Likewise the Basque Country and Catalonia have their own versions. Zarzuela is still popularly enjoyed today amongst Spanish people and tourists will find plenty of places to see a show. We recommend:

El Teatro de la Zarzuela (dedicated to the genre)

Teatros del Canal (they include various performances in their varied programme of productios)

Zarzuela.net (contains zarzuela listings)

Famous zarzuela pieces:

El Golfo de la Sirenas- Calderón de la Barca (one of the earliest pieces)

Pan y Toros- Francisco Barbieri

El Juramento- Joaquín Gaztambide

La Gran Vía- Federico Chueca

El Barberillo de Lavapiés- Francisco Barbier

Los Claveles- José Serrano

Bohemios- Amadeo Vives

Doña Francisquita- Amadeo Vives

El Huesped del Sevillano- Jacinto Guerrero

If you are still interested in the genre, we have written up the story and history of El Barberillo de Lavapiés. Click to visit.

Here's a video of Spanish soprano star Mayca Teba, who has perfomed globally and alongside greats such as Plácido Domingo, singing Dúo Pero Capitan from the zarzuela La Canción del Olvido. To hear more of Mayca's music, visit www.maycateba.com