Estrella Morente: Autorretrato LOS ANGELES DEBUT Estrella Morente Vocals José Carbonell “Montoyita” Guitar Sun, Mar 16 José Carbonell Serrano “Monti” Guitar Royce Hall Antonio Carbonell Palmas, Chorus 7:00pm Enrique Morente Carbonell “Kiki” Palmas, Chorus Angel Gabarre Palmas, chorus Pedro Gabarre “Popo” Percussion PERFORMANCE DURATION: Joan Fornés Sound Approximately 80 minutes; Bea Vega Road manager No intermission Macande Management Supported in part by PROGRAM Jose Luis Nazar Endowment (subject to change) for the Performing Arts Pregón Requiem MEDIA SPONSORS: Habanera Tangos Toreros Granaína Seguiriya Instrumental En un sueño vinistes La Estrella Sevillanas a Lola Bulería de la corriente MESSAGE FROM THE CENTER: The art of performance is rife with opportunities for revelation. The artist is a revelator, one who reaches deep inside her own thoughts, dreams and desires to unearth expressive truths. Or stretches out into the past, the future, the world around us to magically unveil memories and sensations we have not yet fully encountered. Tonight, we are very privileged to bring Estrella Morente to the Los Angeles stage for the first time in her luminous career as one of the most astoundingly expressive flamenco artists performing today. Her artistry is emotionally resonant, technically perfect and showcases a precision, integrity and a spirit of the form, one that Estrella learned at the knee of her legendary father Enrique Morente. Her father, before he passed away several years ago, had a hand in the production of her most recent album, Autorretrato, which can be literally translated as “self-portrait,” and about which Estrella has said: “it means to reveal oneself and be sincere about it.” She has called this work “the most sincere creation I could make; I looked deep inside myself, to express what I’ve felt, lived and learned in music and in my life until now.” And now, she brings these revelations, this self-portrait, to us, to this stage, which is steeped in memories of artists who came before, ESTRELLA MORENTE: Autorretrato sharing with us their own unique and revelatory visions of their art, By Fernando Trueba of themselves and of the world we share. The first time I saw Estrella Morente live, was at a concert at the Madrid Thank you for helping us welcome Estrella Morente to Los Angeles. College of Medicine in 1998. I was speechless. No other artist had ever impressed me as much on stage. Never. Not even my idol Georges Thank you for joining us, for revealing yourselves enough to Brassens, nor my beloved Leonard Cohen or Bruce Springsteen ... become part of this joyful moment in the art of performance. Estrella was something new, something different. The first thing that impressed me was her attitude, innate elegance, a new sophistication, an apparent security, not the result of arrogance but of courage and nobility. But then Estrella started singing and I entered a kind of twilight zone. It seemed imposible, someone so young with so much wisdom at the same time. Or was it intuition? Or was it in the genes? Who cares? For me, that day, a star was born. More than that. Because Estrella, like it or not, belongs to the great, crazy, strange family of the Divas: Callas, Bernhardt, Duncan, Garbo .... and that is something that is not learnt or studied, cannot be bought or sold. It is something that is present. Something innate. In Estrella I found heritage, tradition, and also innovation, the future. The improviser, who never repeats herself, because true feelings can never be duplicated or manufactured. They are conjured up at a given moment. Every time Estrella takes a stage to sing, the place becomes a theatre or an arena, whether in a tablao, on film, or in any performance. She is archaic and fiuturistic at the same time. Estrella is a performer who uses her voice like any of the jazz greats, as the noblest, the most primitive and most quintessential of instruments. But Estrella is also an actress, although in her oeuvre, roles and characters are not defined or mechanical. They represent an open score, upon which to open the heart of Cante, like a ritual sacrifice in which art is always renewed, always alive. From her father she learned that art is never one thing, but carries all others within: poetry, dance, painting, bullfighting, film and theatre. Today, fate has forced Estrella to become matriarch of a family quite COMING UP AT CAP UCLA unlike any other in the Spanish arts realm. She began recording her new album with her father, mentor and teacher, as well as producer, the great Be a part of our story this season. Experience more great art Enrique Morente. He was unable to finish it, but it is now in your hands. and artists. Autorretrato (Self Portrait) is pure magic. It consists of seemingly disparate tracks, which passed through the filter of Estrella’s voice become one, in a kind of unique composition, an oratory in several movements. It is like a confession, even a statement. It is the overwhelming intimacy of the music which makes it a self -portrait. The self-portrait of a great star. Estrella, as she is today. Estrella, TUNE-IN please continue, like Goya, Picasso, or Rembrandt, to portray yourself as you are. FESTIVAL L.A. ABOUT ESTRELLA MORENTE Born in Granada, Morente is the eldest daughter of the late, legendary Thu-Sat, Mar 27-29 flamenco singer Enrique Morente and the dancer Aurora Carbonell. She grew up surrounded by flamenco and has since become one of Spain’s Royce Hall most sought-after performers, drawing modern elements of pop and Schoenberg Hall jazz balladry into her music while remaining true to the classic flamenco tradition. Morente’s music has been universally lauded by demanding flamenco connoisseurs and modern rock artists alike for its crystalline timbre and for the singer’s ability to move seamlessly between warm, seductive tones to more raw and expressive phrases. A deep knowledge of the art form, as well as innate musical taste has made Morente a point of reference for aficionados and newcomers to flamenco singing. Morente is an experienced performer, having sung traditional Cantes de Levante at the age of four and recorded with famed guitar master and flamenco composer Sabicas at seven years old. She made her US debut in 2007 as part of the World Music Institute’s 8th Annual New York Flamenco Festival, and was featured on the soundtrack for Pedro Almodóvar’s film Volver (EMI Latin) in 2006. Morente has performed in prestigious music venues and festivals the world over, including the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Royal Theatre Carré in Ámsterdam, Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, the Oslo International Festival, and Les Suds à Arles and Festival Voix de Femmes in France, among others. Recently, she recorded De Falla’s El Amor Brujo with the Spanish National Orchestra under the direction of Josep Pons. Her latest album, Autorretrato (EMI), was released in October 2012. Peter Brook / Théâtre des Bouffes ABOUT FLAMENCO FESTIVAL du Nord: The Suit Estrella Morente appears as part of Flamenco Festival, dedicated to Wed, Apr 9 - Sun, Apr 13 the promotion of flamenco artists outside of Spain. Flamenco Festival´s Thu, Apr 17 - Sat, Apr 19 international annual events showcase the leading flamenco names of Freud Playhouse at Macgowan Hall today, from world renowned artists and icons of traditional flamenco to the most innovative, emerging young stars of flamenco dance, music and song. Flamenco Festival, directed and founded by Miguel Marin, each year conquers new theaters and new audiences for flamenco. Flamenco Festival USA was founded in 2001, and since then has become a stable showcase for Spanish artists, taking place in New York, Washington DC, Miami, Boston and other American cities. In 2003, the first Flamenco Festival was presented in London at Sadler´s Wells, and since then it has become an annual date with Flamenco in London. In 2005, Flamenco Festival expanded to Japan, and in May 2006, the festival was presented in Paris, becoming a biannual event. In 2007, there was the first Flamenco Festival of China, with performances in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. In 2008 Flamenco Festival was presented in Brussels for the first time with the aim of becoming an annual event and a window for Spanish artist in the international cultural scene. In 2011 Flamenco Festival was presented for the first time in Moscow (Russia) and in São Paulo (Brazil). La Santa Cecilia and This international Flamenco Festival has become among the most David Wax Museum important Spanish cultural events organized outside of Spain. Flamenco Fri, Apr 11 at 8pm Festival also presents flamenco concerts and individual artists tours throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada and the USA, bringing Royce Hall Flamenco to the most prestigious theaters of the world. The boards of CAP UCLA and Design for Sharing would like to thank all the members who have made a choice to join them in supporting arts education and the art of performance at UCLA. GUARDIAN Patricia & William Flumenbaum Tamara Turoff Keough John Schwartz Baret C. Fink Dr. Irene Goldenberg Aliza & Michael Lesser Martha Kauffman & Dr. Jerry Markovitz & Susan Levich Michael Skloff CHAMPION Cameron Jobe Bea & Leonard Mandel Dr. Christopher & Dr. Audree V. Fowler Dr. Lewis & Sandra Kanengiser Mel & Margalit Marshall Glennis Waterman Deborah Irmas Joseph P. Kaufman Merle & Gerald Measer Samantha & John Williams Renee & Meyer Luskin Robert & Milly Kayyem Sandra J. Klein & Steve & Jan Winston Ginny Mancini Joanne Knopoff Donald McCallum Arline Zuckerman Dr. Richard S. Ross Dr. Sheelagh Boyd & Phylis Nicolayevsky Dr. & Mrs. Armin Sadoff Larry Layne Michael & Suzanne Scott ADVOCATE Ralph & Shirley Shapiro Ronald L. Johnston & Joan Lesser Gil & Joanne Segel Anonymous Diane Levine & Robert Wass Susan & Leonard Nimoy Muriel & Neil Sherman Dr.