Dancer and Choreographer Sol Picó Opens 22nd Fira Mediterrània Manresa

The first tickets for the 22nd Fira Mediterrània go on sale

Set to perform at the Kursaal and Conservatori for the upcoming Fira are: Obeses with Cobla Berga Jove; NewCat Ensemble; Toni Gomila and Oriol Broggi; Roberto Olivan; and Quico el Célio, el Noi i el Mut de Ferreries

Fira Mediterrània Manresa, now in its 22nd year, releases the first tickets for a selection of the productions in its programme, at the Teatre Kursaal and Teatre Conservatori, from 10 to 13 October. These performances consist of: Fira’s opening show, with the company of choreographer and dancer Sol Picó and Banda Chapicó; a tribute to Josep Carner by NewCat - The New Catalan Ensemble; a music exchange by Obeses with Cobla Berga Jove; the latest production by Toni Gomila, directed by Oriol Broggi, which addresses tourist Mallorca based on the tale of Joanet de sa Gerra; a performance of the new album to be released by Quico el Cèlio, el Noi i el Mut de Ferreries, which consists of a surprising mix of music with puppets, Chinese shadow puppets, film and new technologies; and the creation lab ‘Socarrel’, born of Fira Mediterrània two years ago and now a show in its own right, with the choreographer Roberto Olivan, the dancer Magí Serra, the electronic music artist Laurent Delforge and the Occitan polyphonic group Vox Bigerri.

Sol Picó opens Fira

The dancer and choreographer Sol Picó will open the 22nd Fira Mediterrània with ‘Animal de Séquia’, on Thursday 10 October at 21.00, in the Sala Gran at Teatre Kursaal. A new and inspiring interpretation of Valencian folk culture, Picó’s production takes the audience on a journey inspired by life-affirming modern beats, replete with vibrant and fast-moving stimuli, to explore the mystic origins of Valencian village culture. The production evokes water, rice cultivation, marshlands, sunlight and Valencian festivals, while the repertoire features influences ranging from Ximo Bayo, muixeranga (ancient street dance and human pyramid formations) filaetes (Moors and Christians festival parades) and trinquet (ratchet used to control the water flow of a river channel) to verses by Vicent Andrés Estellés. There will be eight dancers on a stage from the Sol Picó company, with spectacular staging, as well as more than thirty musicians from Banda Chapicó. The singer Carles Dénia will make a special guest appearance alongside Sol Picó himself.

Sala Gran at the Kursaal

The main auditorium at the Kursaal will also host one of the star highlights of the upcoming Fira: the large-scale concert ‘Bestiari’, a book and recording with which NewCat –The New Catalan Ensemble pays tribute to Josep Carner, an outstanding figure of Catalan literature, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the poet's death next year. Directed musically by the pianist and composer Joan Díaz, NewCat will perform in Manresa with the solo singers Carles Belda, Gemma Abrié, Marc Parrot, Gemma Humet and Joana Gomila. The actress Clara Segura and the poet Josep Pedrals will recite a selection of poems from Carner’s ‘Bestiari’. The concert will also feature a screening of images, produced throughout the project with the multi award-winning artist Arnal Ballester as director of art and a group of students from Escola Massana, in collaboration with NewCat. The concert will take place on Sunday 13 October, at 12.00 noon.

The Kursaal’s main auditorium will also host the rock group Obeses on 11 October, at 21.00. Featuring Cobla Berga Jove and accompanied by the choir Cor d’Obeses, the concert will showcase some of Obeses’ best known songs, interspersed with the characteristic sounds of Cobla music. The arrangements have been put together by band leader Arnau Tordera I. At the same time, classic Cobla pieces are given new life by the rock band in a blend of traditional and modern sounds and a fusion of two seemingly disparate worlds in this production by the ‘Amb So de Cobla’ Festival in Palamós.

Finally, the legendary group from Terres de l’Ebre Quico el Célio, el Noi i el Mut de Ferreries will showcase their latest album in concert, ‘Viatge a Buda’ (Journey to Buda), on 12 October, at 21.00, in the main auditorium. In their most recent recording, the Quicos evoke the bygone times of rural culture, when music was an indispensable part of all areas of the community, and the farmers of Terres de l’Ebre took a day's holiday at the end of July to go to the beach or Buda Island. The show features festival music, workers’ songs, ballads, puppets, Chinese shadow puppets, film and new technologies, enabling it to be re-created in 3D.

Teatre Conservatori

Another show featured in the programme highlights is Rostoll Cremat by Produccions de Ferro, a theatre performance directed by Oriol Broggi, in which Toni Gomila, author of the acclaimed Acorar, looks at society in Mallorca through a compendium of folk and world literature. Invoking irony, humour, condemnation, truth and doubt, Gomila’s text and Broggi’s poetic staging explore the light and dark sides of tourist Mallorca. ‘Rostoll Cremat’ comes to the Teatre Conservatori, on Friday 11 October, at 22.00.

Small Auditorium at the Kursaal

Finally, a performing arts piece that is set to music, ‘Socarrel’, comes to the small auditorium at the Kursaal on Saturday 12 October. It features the Ebro based choreographer Roberto Olivan, the dancer Magí Serra, the Belgian electronic music artist Laurent Delforge, and the polyphonic Occitan group Vox Bigerri. These artists came together two years ago for a creation lab, produced by Fira Mediterrània and Mercat de les Flors. Now the outcome is performed in Manresa, thanks to a collaboration with the Ésdansa de Les Preses festival, where the artists undertake the summer creation residency. The production combines mud, movement, tradition and electronic soundscapes, based on a pairing of humankind and nature. Reflecting on the existence of human nature, the piece enacts a confrontation between and reconciliation of natural elements in the present, a present that has become disconnected from our origins.

Ticket sales

Tickets for these shows can be purchased at the Kursaal Ticket Office or on the Fira Mediterrània website (www.firamediterrania.cat), where users can also find out about other special offers. Discounts are available with early bird purchase or the Toc de la Mediterrània promotional pack. The music pack includes tickets for the concert of Obeses with Cobla Berga Jove, the show by Quicos and the tribute to Josep Carner’s Bestiari by NewCat. The performing arts pack includes tickets for the shows by Sol Picó, Produccions de Ferro and Roberto Olivan. Both packs come with a 25% discount.