{"id":2767,"date":"2015-10-15T07:19:15","date_gmt":"2015-10-15T07:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/josepmariarossello.com\/silent-opera\/"},"modified":"2015-10-15T07:19:15","modified_gmt":"2015-10-15T07:19:15","slug":"silent-opera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/josepmariarossello.com\/en\/silent-opera\/","title":{"rendered":"Silent Opera"},"content":{"rendered":"

SILENT OPERA<\/h1>\n

For the Presentation of the Exhibition in the Foyer of the Tarragona Theatre.<\/h2>\n

Recitation of the \u201cSonnet of the Rose Garland\u201d by Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca<\/h3>\n

Amidst the silence, with my hands stained blue, I traced an oval in the air, using my arms as a compass. The oval remained imprinted upon the space. With a single leap, I distanced myself to observe it. The oval revealed the impressive, wounded megalith of Clot del M\u00e8dol, which from its center radiated geometries and transformed the space into a gigantic sundial. An act of gratitude to the land that allowed our Roman ancestors to extract stone to build the city’s monuments, a ritual of the aristocracy of Roman architects, which adorns the lands of Tamarit de Mar. Thamar, an Arabic word meaning palm tree. Thamar, name of Amnon’s sister, the biblical incestuous siblings from Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca’s poem \u201cRomancero Gitano\u201d. Tamarit, a palm forest, a palm grove that also gives its name to the estate of Am\u00e8lia, the poet’s cousin, a central character in one of his unfinished works, near the Huerta de San Vicente in the Vega del Guadalquivir, in the lands of Granada. <\/p>\n

\"Opera<\/a><\/p>\n

The painted landscape differs from the real landscape, yet it retains its inherent features and character. The golden hue of the stone, and the lush green of the plant world, this favorite color that Lorca openly associates with eroticism, and which symbolically can signify both life and death. Pure poetry. Green and reddish ochre like the colors of western Cuba that had so fascinated the poet. El M\u00e8dol, a space created by human hand, so close to Lorca’s \u201cTeatro bajo la arena\u201d. <\/p>\n

The account that Lluis de Salvador left us of Lorca’s visit to Clot del M\u00e8dol in 1935, following the advice, almost the imposition, of the musician and composer D. Manuel de Falla, is exquisite, not only for qualifying it as a unique setting, but also because, while speaking of architecture, <\/span>the poet refers to the extreme beauty of the cypresses. Possibly Falla knew El M\u00e8dol, because at the beginning of the 20th century, it hosted the mythical \u201cConcerts Natura\u201d, which granted it the designation of Natural Stage of Catalonia- <\/p>\n

The visual percussion of the rain on the garlands commemorating the 80th anniversary of the poet’s visit to Tarragona recalls the sound of the final applause from a devoted and emotional audience, rain that already blessed us when we presented the book \u201cLorca, the unknown visit\u201d (Work in progress) and now materializes in an oval puddle, the initial form of the scenic space, where some petals float, and a white glove like a water lily, skin of the skin, which shows us an enigmatic key, \u201cSilent Opera\u201d, which, with the exhibition of some of the preliminary studies for the triptych, gives title to the exhibition. Silent Opera, in which emotion intensifies in the silence of the painting. Silence, so precious in current times, invaded by constant noise, which does not allow us to hear the distant voice of the stars, nor that of the approaching jungle. <\/p>\n

Just a few meters from where we are now, stood the Teatre Modern, where Lorca premiered his works, with Margarida Xirgu as the figurehead of his ship and where Lluis de Salvador <\/span> <\/span>interviewed the poet. And returning to the \u201cConcerts Natura\u201d at El M\u00e8dol, there was never a final concert, because on the day it was scheduled, it rained heavily and they were forced to suspend it. A week later, it was celebrated with full honors, here, at the old Tarragona Theatre, which occupied this very space until not many years ago. <\/p>\n

This inaugural event raises the curtain on the commemorative events <\/span>of the eightieth anniversary of Lorca’s visit to Tarragona: \u201cLORCATS TGN 80\u201d. And this triptych, which I titled \u201cA beach for you\u201d, remains as the memorial of a wish. The poet, in the interview that Lluis de Salvador conducted with him, said that he wanted to build a house by the Mediterranean; that is why I painted a beach for him, which is now a beach for all who, like Lorca, embrace uncertainty as a poetic ingredient. <\/p>\n

<\/span>——————-Josep Maria Rossell\u00f3———————–<\/p>\n