Opera in Roquetas - 1

We are so lucky here in Roquetas de Mar. Apart from having more days of sun than most other places in Spain, we have culture too.

Yesterday evening, my wife and I went to the opera. OK - it was only at the local cinema but nevertheless we really enjoyed it. The Metropolitan Opera's live HD broadcast of Verdi's Ernani was spectacular.

Dmitri Hvorostovsky & Angela Meade
photo from www.operatoday.com

Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky played Don Carlo; Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto played the part of Don Ruy Gomez de Silva and Ernani was played by Italian tenor Marcello Giordani. 

Perhaps, the star of the show was Angela Meade. The American soprano played the part of Elvira - the role she made her professional opera debut, also at the Met in 2008. Watch out for her - she could be a big star in the future! She's a bit on the plump side now and certainly wouldn't look right as a Violetta (Traviata) or a Mimi (La Boheme) but she has a delightful voice and a pretty face.

My wife and I have attended a number of operas - some at the local theatre but quite a few at the Yelmo Complex cinema. Recently we have seen Tosca, Simon Boccanegra, Don Giovanni, Satyagraha and Faust and intend to watch Manon & La Traviata in April. The Roquetas cinema is the only one in the province showing the Metropolitan Opera's series of live broadcasts - the next nearest establishment showing the operas is over 200km away in Málaga province.

Robert Bovington
Roquetas de Mar February 2012