Classical music, opera and jazz fill Sitgestiu 24 with musical proposals

Sitgestiu 2024 has programmed nine concerts, which will fill the agenda for the months of July and August with different classical, opera and jazz proposals. Sitgestiu starts this week, with the recital of the renowned and award-winning Marco Mezquida at the Racó de la Calma, with tickets already sold out.

Classical music, opera and jazz make up the DNA of Sitgestiu. Also this year, where each of these disciplines will have three recitals between July 10 and August 21. The concerts – as, in fact, the Sitgestiu's program as a whole – are aimed at both local and local audiences as well as tourists who visit the town during the summer months. Three stages (Museu del Cau Ferrat, Saló d'Or del Palau de Maricel and Racó de la Calma) constitute the ideal setting for musical accompaniment.

Classical music. The pianist Marco Mezquida will inaugurate the Sitgestiu this Thursday 10 (8pm). It is a top-notch line-up, since Mezquida has performed or recorded with jazz legends such as Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman and has led projects such as Ravel's Dreams, the Beethoven Collage, the Pieris trio, the MAP trio, his acclaimed duo with the singer Silvia Pérez Cruz, the tandem with the dancer Sol Picó,  his hand in hand with the flamenco guitarist Chicuelo or his compositions for theatrical productions by Julio Manrique, among others.

On Wednesday the 17th, classical music will once again be the protagonist, in this case by the young Andalusian soprano Lucía García – who in 2022 won the Honorable Mention at the Mirabent Magrans Competition in Sitges – and the pianist Anna Crexells, a regular in other editions of Sitgestiu and who has played or collaborated with orchestras such as the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and the National Orchestra of Catalonia,  that of Vallès or the Jove Nacional de Catalunya, in addition to having worked under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda, Alain Guingal, Victor Pablo Pérez, Jaume Martín, Phillippe Herreweghe or Salvador Brotons.

The last concert of Clàssica al Racó will be performed by Tempus Trio, Wednesday 31 July (8pm). Composed by of Marta Tió on violin, Ferran Bardolet on cello and Ricard Rovirosa on piano, Tempus Trio has won several international awards, including the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition (Brussels), the Platinum Medal of the WPTA Singapore International Music Competition, the Silver Medal of the 2nd Vienna International Competition, or the special prize of the BBVA Montserrat Alavedra International Competition.

The last concert of Clàssica al Racó will be with Tempus Trio, Wednesday 31 July (8pm). Made up of Marta Tió on violin, Ferran Bardolet on cello and Ricard Rovirosa on piano, Tempus Trio has won several international awards, including the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition (Brussels), the Platinum Medal of the WPTA Singapore International Music Competition, the Silver Medal of the 2nd Vienna International Competition, or the special prize of the BBVA Montserrat Alavedra International Competition.

Opera. The opera sessions at Sitgestiu 2024 have a double format: the performance of Rigoletto in pocket opera format (on Sundays, July 28th and August 11th in the Saló d'Or of the Palau de Maricel) and the Opera a la fresca (Sunday, August 6th at the Racó de la Calma). In all three cases, the recitals are performed by La Petita Companyia Lírica de Barcelona.

Rigoletto will bring the audience closer to the feelings that characterize this piece by Verdi inspired by a novel by Victor Hugo. And it will do so in the incomparable setting of the Saló d'Or, with the artists close to the audience. For its part, the Opera a la fresca will show the essence of the great pieces of opera, such as Carmen, La traviata or Il barbiere di Siviglia...

Jazz. Jazz is also the protagonist of Sitgestiu's musical evenings. The Retrio ensemble (with Òscar Ferret on piano, Joan Pinós on double bass and Josep Pinyu Martí on drums) star in the two recitals of Jazz al Cau (Tuesday 16 and 30 July, at Cau ferrat) and the Festa Major (Wednesday 21 August at Racó de la Calma).

Retrio will perform a very particular vision of the compositions that are part of Sitges' popular culture, such as the music of the Festa Major entourage and the works of composers such as Enric Morera, Gabriel Pallarès or Manel Torrens... All with different rhythms, ranging from jazz and swing to traditional music.

A cappella concert. In addition to the nine classical, opera and jazz recitals, the Sitgestiu program includes another musical show. This is the modernist a cappella concert, with Malvasia tasting, which we will hold on August 31, to close the cycle. The recital will be given by the group Ensemble Vocal Cambra 16 (made up by tenor Andreu Miret, the guitarist Joan Garrobé and the conductor Esteve Nabona) and will be held in the Racó de la Calma. Attendees will be able to taste three wines from the Celler de l'Hospital: Ancestral 1324, Llegat Llopis and Malvasia Dolça.

PROGRAM:

Classical
Marco Mezquida
Wednsday 10 de july, 20h
Racó de la Calma

Lucía García and Anna Crexells
Wednsday 17 de juliol, 20h
Racó de la Calma

Tempus Trio
Wednsday 31 july, 20h
Racó de la Calma

Opera
Rigoletto
Sunday 28 July, 20h
Sunday 11 d’agost, 20h
Saló d’Or del Palau de Maricel

Òpera a la fresca or opera al fresco
Tuesday 6 August, 20h
Racó de la Calma

Jazz
Jazz al Cau amb Retrio
Tuesday 16 July, 20h
Tuesday 30 July, 20h
Cau Ferrat

Jazz al Racó de la Calma with Retrio (concert included in the main Sitges Festival)
Wednsday 21 agost, 20h
Racó de la Calma