Núria Rial is emotional in her memory of Victoria of the Angels

2023-08-04 11:50:36

The Barcelona soprano Victòria dels Àngels revived on Wednesday evening in the voice of the Manresa soprano Núria Rialwhich flooded the Carmel church as part of the recital Song of the Soulduring which Rial she was accompanied by Rubén Fernández on the piano. This was the warm and heartfelt tribute that the Peralada Festival wanted to pay to one of the great figures of lyric poetry in Catalonia, whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year. Rial, with great complicity with Fernández – who had come up with the idea for the concert – offered a great display of his vocal record on the same stage where, in August 1989, Victory of the Angels he had performed in the framework of the third edition of the festival, in what would be his only performance in the contest.

Precisely, Song of the Soulof Frederic Mompou – the song that gave the recital its title – was the one chosen to kick off the evening, which was divided into two parts of thirty minutes each. During the first part, he interpreted with great skill and mastery compositions by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Brahms o Ravelamong others.

Catalan and Spanish pieces

The second part, on the other hand, it included exclusively pieces of Catalan and Spanish music. It started with the interpretation of Victoria, a piece with music by Bernat Vivancos based on original words by Victòria dels Àngels herself. It was his premiere in Catalonia, and the composer himself, who was present at the recital, went on stage briefly.

During a much more personal and intimate second part, in which Rial went on to explain some of the songs she was facing, the soprano captivated the audience while peeling off pieces ofEnric Granados, Manuel García MoranteMompou again –Vocalise a Victoriacomposed especially for Angels despite the fact that she never got to know it-, Xavier Montsalvatge, Jesús Guidi, Ernesto Halffter and Eduard Toldràha what Farewell song put an end to the concert.

However, loud applause from the audience, who did not hesitate to stand up to show their enthusiasm, gave way to encores, which included carnationsof Gerald Moore, Azulaoof Jayme Ovallei Achlorisof Reynaldo Hahn. Among the attendees was the Minister of Culture of the Generalitat, Natàlia Garriga.