He Teatro Real has received tonight the International Opera Award 2021 to Best Opera Theater, that recognizes the quality of artistic programming throughout 2019 and has received the profession's tribute to a career that has strengthened its international projection, making it one of the reference theaters in the world.
The artistic director of the Teatro Real, Joan Matabosch, thanked the award, on behalf of the institution, and praised the effort of the organization to carry out this gala, despite today's complicated circumstances, for the support it provides for everyone and the encouragement to regain normalcy as soon as possible. His words have had an emotional recognition for the entire Teatro Real team, both for its governing bodies and for each and every one of the workers who "every day, with determination, professionalism and enthusiasm manage to raise the curtain ".
In this sense, the organization of International Opera Awards has made a special mention to Teatro Real for the work done during the pandemic - the 1 July became the first theater in the world to reopen its doors and during the following months it was the only one with uninterrupted scenic activity- what has made it a symbol of strength, creativity and effort on the international scene.
The Royal Theater competed in the category of Best Opera Company with the Royal Opera House (London), la Finnish National Opera (Helsinki), the Frankfurt Opera, comical opera (Paris) y La Monnaie / De Munt (Brussels), being the second time in which I chose as a finalist for this award (was nominated in 2018).
He Teatro Real premiere, in 2019, new productions from Idomeneo, Mozart (with Ivor Bolton in the musical and stage direction of Robert Carsen, Also nominated in this edition as Best Stage Director); Falstaff, in Verdi (with Daniele Rustioni y Laurent Pelly); Capriccio, Richard Strauss (with Asher Fish and stage direction by Christof Loy) e The pirate, Bellini (with Maurizio Benini and Emilio Sagi).
That same year he began the Wagnerian Tetralogy with Rheingold (with Pablo Heras-Casado and Robert Carsen); it premiered La Calisto, of Horses (with Ivor Bolton and David Alden); Return Dido & Aeneas, Purcell (Christopher Moulds/Sasha Waltz), and titles as popular as The Troubadour (Maurizio Benini / Francisco Negrín) Y Don Carlo (Nicola Luisotti / David McVicar) in Verdi, Y L'elisir d'amore, Donizetti (MarcPiollet/Damiano Michieletto), in addition to the absolute premiere of I'm narcissistic, by Raquel García Tomás.
In May 2018 the Teatro Real also earned four nominations: best Coro, Best Opera Company, Best Play Recovered (Bomarzo) and Best New Production for Billy Budd, getting the first prize for the latter, directed on stage by British Deborah Warner and in the ditch by Ivor Bolton, and with special mention to the excellent musical performance of the soloists, the Choir and Orchestra of the Teatro Real Headlines.
In this edition, the Teatro Real had obtained three other nominations in the categories of Best Orchestra, with the Head of the Royal Theatre Orchestra, Madrid Symphony Orchestra; Absolute Best Premiere, with opera I narcisiste, by the composer Raquel García Tomás, and Best Audiovisual Recording for the DVD of Street Scene.
Tonight we also celebrated the award for Best Young Singer, awarded to Xabier Anduaga, who is these days at the Royal Theater rehearsing the opera Long live mom, de Gaetano Donizetti, whose premiere will take place next 2 of June, in which the baritone Carlos Álvarez also participates, one of the four finalists for Best Male Singer.
The Royal Theater wants to thank everyone: public, artists, institutions, sponsors and media, their determined support for the cultural and artistic project that, throughout these almost 25 years of work since reopening, have made it one of the most important opera houses in the world.