Los Elementos
le tendre amour & adrian schvarzstein
AIR, EARTH, WATER, FIRE, and TIME personified meet in a Spanish bar in LOS ELEMENTOS, a 90-minute fast-paced c. 1718 opera by Antonio de Literes.
Set in a typical 1950s bar somewhere in the middle of Castilla, our eight musicians, five singers, two dancers, and actor breathe new life to Antonio Literes' colourful baroque opera, LOS ELEMENTOS.
Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and Time are personified as four sopranos and baritone evoke emotions from passion to sweetness in their beautiful arias. Their emotion and intentions are so clear that not one word of Spanish need be understood in order to feel part of the action. The ambience of a typical bar from the 1950s is painstakingly recreated in every minute detail, and with a great sense of humor, the result is a wonderfully uplifting caricature of Spanish society.
"A performance that offers its audience everything and more! Dance, music, comedy, and a large portion of charm combine to create euphoria in the audience!
Adrian Schvarzstein …stages Los Elementos just as vividly and effectively as he plays the evening's host".
Kronen Zeitung, Graz
We unite Literes' original expressive score with stunning, virtuosic Spanish dance, giving the audience an authentic and passionate glimpse of Iberia with all its colour and fire. Los Elementos is an audio and visual Spanish experience perfect for all ages and audiences!
Los Elementos is at once familiar and exotic, an event that is able to reach all audiences, giving an intelligent nod to lovers of “classical music” yet also including those who thought it could never be so much fun. For a Spanish bar is the stage where all parts of society are invited and meet, and it is that geniality and genuine warmth of Spain that we wish to share.
"An abundance of mischievous and humorous ideas that guaranteed amusing entertainment. Beautiful women and racy men offered a feast for the eye – as with the dance couple Caroline Pozuelo & Miguel Lara, who in their own choreographies showed fiery flamenco performances of almost bursting spirits. And the four soloists not only have subtle in character and colour, but also showed their enthusiastic vitality and wonderful sense of comedy. All the singers, dancers and extras were united in the end with a sparkling finale, an expression of pure joy of life."
Opera Lounge – Bern Hoppe
Artistic team
ESTEBAN MAZER & KATY ELKIN, DIR. - ENSEMBLE LE TENDRE AMOUR
ADRIAN SCHVARZSTEIN - staging
SINGERS
MARIA HINOJOSA - soprano
LUANDA SIQUEIRA - soprano
MARINA PARDO - mezzo soprano
MARTA VALERO - mezzo soprano
HUGO OLIVEIRA - baritone
dancers
CAROLINA POZUELO & MIGUEL LARA
MUSICIANS
MONICA WAISMAN & MARIA GOMIS - violins
KATY ELKIN - oboe
LIXSANIA FERNANDEZ - viola de gamba
MIGUEL RINCON - guitar
MANUEL VILAS - harp
ESTEBAN MAZER - harpsichord
PERE OLIVÉ - percussion