The Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra (JPO) kicks off its fall season on Friday, October 18 with a conventional program of works by Rachmaninoff and Bruckner directed by guest conductor Marco Parisotto. (The orchestra has yet to appoint a permanent musical director following the departure of Alondra de la Parra earlier this year.)
The accent quickly changes to opera for Program Two, with a bicentennial celebration of the work of Giuseppe Verdi, the Italian composer born in October 1813.
Opera houses and orchestras around the world are paying tribute to Verdi this year and the Degoalldo will be no exception. Guadalajara’s homage to the great master will feature four invited singers and the Jalisco State Choir.
The choir will be back on the theater’s stage for Program Four to participate in a production of Verdi’s classic opera “La Traviata.”
In between these two highly promising programs the JPO and assorted guests will interpret a selection of Zarzuela pieces. (Popular in Guadalajara, Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, incorporating both operatic and popular music.)
The stars of the professional Joven Ballet de Jalisco will be on stage to add dramatic ambience for the fifth program, as the orchestra plays classic ballet pieces, including “Don Quixote,” “Carmen” and “Sleeping Beauty,” among others.
The sixth and final program is still a bit of a mystery. It is billed as an “arts festival” encompassing music, dance and theater.
Here is the full schedule. All performances take place at the Teatro Degollado in downtown Guadalajara.
PROGRAM 1
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” and Anton Bruckner’s “Romantic Symphony No 4.” Canadian Marco Parisotto conducts, Sweden’s Peter Jablonski is the invited pianist.
Friday, October 18, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 20, 12:30 p.m. 110-200 pesos.
PROGRAM 2
Verdo Gala in honor of the bicentennial of his birth. Anatoly Zatin conducts. Invited soloists are Leonardo Villeda, tenor; Carla Lopez Speziale, mezzosoprano; Jesus Suaste, baritone; and Lorena Flores, soprano. Also with the Jalisco State Choir, directed by Sergio Hernandez.
Friday, October 25, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 27, 12:30 p.m. 50-400 pesos.
PROGRAM 3
Anthology of Zarzuela. Jorge Rivero conducts, Ernesto Álvarez is the executive producer.
Friday, November 1, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 3, 12:30 p.m. 50-400 pesos.
PROGRAM 4
Verdi’s “La Traviata.” Vladimir Gomez is the guest director and executive producer. Featuring Claudia Cota, soprano (Violeta); Arturo Valencia, tenor (Alfredo); and Jesus Suaste, baritone (G. Germont). Also with the Jalisco State Choir.
Friday, November 8, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 10, 12:30 p.m. 110-200 pesos.
PROGRAM 5
Ballet Gala with the Joven Ballet de Jalisco, directed by Dariusz Blajer. Music and scenes from various well-known ballets.
Friday, November 15, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 17, 12:30 p.m. 110-200 pesos.
PROGRAM 6
Festival de las Artes in conjunction with the Secretaria de Cultura. Director Armando Pesqueira, music coordinator Sibila Knobel, executive producer Josué Valderrama. Also with the Jalisco State Choir.
Friday, November 22, 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 24, 12:30 p.m. 110-200 pesos.