11-12 May 2012 (Fri-Sat) 8pm
Auditorium, Tuen Mun Town Hall
$260, 200, 150, 100

14 May 2012 (Mon) 8pm
Concert Hall, Hong Kong City Hall
$360, 280, 220, 150
All tickets for Hong Kong City Hall are SOLD OUT.
Thank you for your support!

"Dance and music-making this good are rare"
The Times, London

The theme of this production consists of two interrelated ideas, both of which have fascinated Paco Peña for quite some time: one is re-visiting a chapter of the flamenco repertoire – and history – which is not so often looked at or fully appreciated, a group of flamenco forms that were born at the turn of the 20th century as a result of Spanish musicians, singers and dancers arriving in South America to conduct tours of their shows and finding on arrival a rich folklore that reminded them very strongly of their own musical traditions.

The connections are natural, given the history of the Discovery and subsequent traffic between Spain and the new colonies. But to these artists that encounter amounted to a new and exciting discovery that inspired them, and prompted the creation of a few additions to the flamenco repertoire in the form of new songs and dances incorporating, inevitably, the flavour of the music they had just experienced. The new group of styles was called “Cantes de Ida y Vuelta” (songs of departure and return).

It is time to bring these forms back to the stage and to show their, somewhat, romantic appeal but also the way in which some of them have developed and become full-blooded flamenco forms of great vitality and potential. In addition, the production has a wider and more ambitious aim: it sets out to combine the best of flamenco and its environment, with Latin America, especially Venezuela, and the great variety of music that exists there. The interest is in trying to get away from usual renderings of Latin American music which in many instances amount to light-hearted, colourful shows, with beauty and exuberance but which often end up projecting stereotypes of a limited nature that don’t come near suggesting how rich and varied the music al world of that area can be.

In this show we shall aim to explore deeper and more complex elements of the music al traditions in that part of the world, looking at the same time to the strong historical connections between Latin America and Andalucía and Spain, as mentioned. We also look at African influences in the surprising, exotic sounds of Afro-Venezuelan folklore, with a fleeting look at Afro-Peru as well.

The essential element of the show will of course be the art of flamenco, as befits the work of Paco Peña and his Company, but we want to display other forms of songs and dances, drawn from Latin American countries and traditions, and will seek to point out possible points and realities in common between the different musical cultures.

Paco Peña embodies both authenticity and innovation in flamenco. As guitarist, composer, dramatist, producer and artistic mentor he has transformed perceptions of this archetypal Spanish art form.

Born in the Andalucian city of Córdoba, Paco Peña began learning guitar from his brother at the age of six and made his first professional appearance at the age of 12. In the late 1960s he left Spain for London, where his recitals of flamenco music captured the public imagination.

Venues for his solo performances have included the intimate Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and the monumental Royal Albert Hall in London, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He has shared the stage with fellow-guitarists, singers and instrumental groups, bridging diverse musical genres, including classical, jazz, blues, country and Latin American.

In 1995 The New York Times declared that: “Mr Peña is a virtuoso, capable of dazzling an audience beyond the frets of mortal man. He combines rapid-fire flourishes with a colourist’s sense of shading; this listener cannot recall hearing any guitarist with a more assured mastery of his instrument.“ It should come as no surprise that readers of America's Guitar magazine judged Paco Peña Best Flamenco Guitarist of the Year for five consecutive years.

In 1981 he founded the Centro Flamenco Paco Peña in Córdoba, later becoming Artistic Director of the Córdoba International Guitar Festival. Plans are underway for a new educational initiative in Peña’s hometown, complementing his work as the world’s first Professor of Flamenco Guitar, a role established in 1985 at Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands.

Since 1970 Paco Peña has performed regularly with his own hand-picked company of dancers, guitarists and singers in a succession of groundbreaking shows. The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company has taken flamenco into the realm of music-theatre with regular seasons in London (Royal Festival Hall, Sadler’s Wells Theatre and Barbican) and festival appearances in Edinburgh, Adelaide, Amsterdam, Athens, Israel, Istanbul, Singapore and Hong Kong. 1999 brought the most ambitious production yet: Musa Gitana. Peña based the piece on the life and work of another artist from Córdoba, the painter Julio Romero de Torres. Its seven-week season at the Peacock Theatre in London's West End stands as the longest-ever run of a flamenco show and a further London season followed in Spring 2001.

Another landmark was Misa Flamenca, a 1991 setting of the Mass that juxtaposed Peña’s company with a classical choir. Its premiere at London’s Royal Festival Hall, given with the Choir of the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, was followed by a staging at the 1992 EXPO in Seville. Misa Flamenca has also been seen in Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the USA. Paco Peña has further plans to marry flamenco with the forms and forces of classical music.

Paco Peña is based in London, but still spends a significant part of the year in his native Andalucía. In 1997 he was proud to be named Oficial de la Cruz de la Orden del Merito Civil, an honour bestowed by King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Devised by:  Paco Peña
Director:  Jude Kelly
Music Concept by:  Paco Peña
Special Advisor:  Diego Alvarez ‘El Negro’
Original Music:  Paco Arriaga, Rafael Montilla & Ricardo Sandoval
Assisted by:  Carlos Tález, José Angel Carmona & Inmaculada Rivero
Choreography:  Angel Muñoz, Fran Espinosa, Ramón Martínez & Daniela Tugues
Lighting Design:  Aideen Malone
Stage Design:  Michael Vale
Costumes:  Linda Rowell & Elvira Peña
Sound Design and Technical Advisor:  Elena Peña
Producer:  MPM London
Stage Manager:  Elena Peña
Lights:  Tom Wickens
Sound:  Raúl Méndez

All music adaptations and arrangements by Paco Peña and the Company with special collaboration by Diego Alvarez, Ricardo Sandoval, Paco Arriaga, Rafael Montilla & Carlos Tàlez

Spain     
Dancers:  Angel Muñoz, Charo Espino & Ramón Martínez
Guitars:  Paco Peña, Paco Arriaga & Rafael Montilla
Singers:  Inmaculada Rivero & José Angel Carmona
Percussionist:  Diego Alvarez ‘El Negro’

Venezuela
Dancer:  Daniela Tugues
Bandola / Mandolín:  Ricardo Sandoval
Percussion / Vocals:  Carlos Tález
Cuatro:  Aquiles Báez
Bass:  José Vicente Muñoz

Running time of this programme is about 2 hours 15 minutes including intermission. Audiences are strongly advised to arrive punctually.  No latecomers will be admitted until a suitable break in the programme

13 May 2012 (Mon)  10:30am
Venue: GR2, 8/F Backstage, Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre
$150
Conducted by Paco Peña (In English)
Quota: 20
Participants with flamenco experience are welcome
All tickets for workshop are SOLD OUT. Thank you for your support!

Flamenco Workshop will include dance and guitar workshop, please call 2268 7323 for more details.

Tickets available from 30 March onwards at all URBTIX outlets, on Internet and by Credit Card Telephone Booking
Half-price tickets available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and the minder, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (Limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients available on a first-come-first-served basis)
Concessionary ticket holders must produce evidence of their identity or age upon admission
10% off for each purchase of 4-9 tickets at regular price, 15% off for 10-19 tickets, and 20% off for 20 tickets or more(not applicable for tickets of Flamenco Workshop)
For every purchase, only one of the above discount schemes applies. Please inform the box office staff at the time of purchase

Programme Enquiries: 2268 7323
Ticketing Enquiries: 2734 9009
Credit Card Telephone Booking: 2111 5999
Internet Booking: www.urbtix.hk

Audiences of age 6 or above are welcome
The contents of this programme do not represent the views of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department
The presenter reserves the right to substitute artists and change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary
Presented by Leisure and Cultural Services Department