The Concentus BA Ensemble, Argentina’s first historicist orchestra dedicated to Classicism and Romanticism, presents the “Romantics and Revolutionaries” cycle at Teatro Avenida. Here, we speak with Betty Gambartes, in charge of dramaturgy and stage direction, about the upcoming performance on July 16 at Teatro Avenida.
By Maxi Luna.
Artistically and musically directed by Ricardo Sciammarella, founder of the Concentus BA Ensemble, this proposal merges music, literature, theater, image, and light. It also features the collaboration of Betty Gambartes and Diego Vila, who bring their expertise to create the first two ingenious, entertaining, and highly intelligent shows centered around Haydn and Mozart, two revolutionaries in the twilight of their lives but at the height of their creative existence.
What to listen to while reading the interview? MusicaClasicaBA recommends:
– How did you come to collaborate with the Concentus Ensemble?
– Ricardo Sciammarella attended the play I wrote with Diego Vila, “¿Quién es Clara Wieck?”, premiered at the Teatro San Martín in 2022. He was very interested in our proposal and contacted me, as he was also looking for something similar.
Our goal with Clara Wieck by Schumann was to bring classical music to non-traditional settings and to bring the music, in this case by Schumann, Brahms, and Clara herself, into a dramatic and performative context with excellent piano performances by Eduardo Delgado, actress Annie Dutoit Argerich, and baritone Víctor Torres.
– What attracted you to the proposal?
– Ricardo mentioned that he was interested in doing something similar with the Concentus Ensemble. He told us that the first concert would be centered on the music of Haydn and the second on Mozart’s Requiem. For us, creating for a conductor and orchestra of Concentus’ quality was an exceptional opportunity.
In the case of the Haydn concert, we had to imagine the appropriate context to approach “La Scena di Berenice” and Haydn’s Symphony No. 104, two works of unparalleled beauty. We invented a character, a man of today, a demiurge who magically appears in 1795 in London, at the Theatre Royal on the day of the premiere of both works. Actor Néstor Caniglia performs a scene with the wonderful Alejandra Malvino, providing the appropriate context for the aria she will then sing, which was a premiere for Argentina.
As an introduction to Symphony No. 104, we relied on a visit from Haydn himself, who, in a dialogue with Maestro Sciammarella, provided some insights into his life and work in a humorous situation. In short, it was an effort to dust off the concept of “Papa” Haydn.
– The next concert is dedicated to Mozart’s Requiem, one of the pinnacles of symphonic-choral religious music. Besides being one of his last works, it is surrounded by centuries of mystery. How did you approach this work and what can we expect without spoilers?
– As you said, the Requiem is shrouded in mystery and conjecture. Therefore, with Diego Vila, we invited Constanze Weber, Mozart’s widow, to appear at the Teatro Avenida, being interviewed by an incisive and malicious journalist who seeks to uncover what happened with the Requiem and, above all, to “unmask” the criticized Constanze. However, he will encounter an intelligent woman who also has a goal: to tell “her” truth. Constanze will be played by Belén Pasqualini and the journalist by Néstor Caniglia.
Read also:
The Soul Behind “Romantics and Revolutionaries” – Interview with Ricardo Sciammarella
About the next concert:
July 16 – “A Requiem for…”
Works by W.A. Mozart:
Requiem K 621
Ave verum corpus
Grupo de Canto Coral, director: Néstor Andrenacci
Soloists:
Silvina Patryna
Sarah Migliori
Ricardo Gonzalez Dorrego
Víctor Torres
Texts and dramaturgy: Betty Gambartes and Diego Vila
Narrator: Néstor Caniglia
Lighting: Roberto Traferri
Tickets can be purchased at the theater box office or through Ticketek.
About Betty Gambartes
Betty Gambartes is a playwright and director of theater and opera. She has created numerous musical shows based on the theatricality of popular songs, such as *Arráncame la vida* (written together with Chico Novarro), one of the most successful musicals in Argentine theater. In collaboration with musician Diego Vila, she has premiered *Who is Clara Wieck?*, *I Do Not Promise You Eternal Love*, *Manzi, Life on the Edge*, *The Forbidden*, and the opera *Orestes, Last Tango*, presented in the Netherlands and Belgium. Other works include *Discepolín and I*, inspired by the poetic universe of Enrique Santos Discépolo, and Bertolt Brecht’s *The Threepenny Opera*.
