Carnegie Hall in New York is filled with Spanish airs with the Teatro Real orchestra

New York's Carnegie Hall was filled with Spanish airs with a concert by the Teatro Real orchestra and its repertoire made up of zarzuelas and pieces by Falla and Albéniz, which received resounding applause from the public in the Big Apple.

For what was their first performance in the legendary New York venue, the Teatro Real orchestra titled their concert "A celebration of Spanish music", and although it did not fill the venue completely, the audience -largely Spanish from New York - celebrated the show with abundant applause.

In the box of honor were Queen Emeritus Doña Sofía and the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, the latter immersed this week in a promotional trip to New York for the capital of Spain as a cultural, business, tourist and even student; Among these activities was today's concert, sponsored by the city council itself and several companies.

The staff of the Spanish Royal Theater traveled to New York for the show, in whose presentation they said that for them it was a unique opportunity to show the "Spain brand" around the world, especially at a time when Asian countries suffer from significant travel restrictions, unlike what happens in the United States.

Not by chance, all those attending the concert received a brochure along with the song program inviting them to visit the Teatro Real, based in Madrid, reminding them of the operas scheduled for the 22/23 season and the names of the main sopranos and tenors in his "spectacular productions".

The concert consisted of a first part with pieces by Falla (El sombrero de tres picos) and Albéniz (from his Iberia suite), which left the audience somewhat cold; but the second part, with the introduction of the castanets, first, followed later by fragments of zarzuelas by Vives, Sorozábal or Chueca, easily captivated the New York public.

The festive airs, the easier melodies, and above all the portentous performance of the soprano Sabina Puértolas, who closed each one of the pieces of the small genre with some very demanding solos, were the ones that definitely got the public in the pocket.

The concert ended with the elegant final dance of Falla's The Three-Cornered Hat, and when the audience stood up to applaud the performance of maestro Juanjo Mena and the entire symphony orchestra for several minutes, the musicians gave a "bis" to the one they chose "The Weddings of Luis Alonso" by Gerónimo Giménez.