The history of the musical, with words, band and choir at the Grec

Titled La nit del músic alt (The Night of High Music) , the penultimate show to be seen at the Montjuïc Amphitheater as part of the Grec Festival in Barcelona on Friday the 25th is presented. The company Indi Gest, the Barcelona Municipal Band, and José Rafael Pascual-Vilaplana, who is also the musical director, are responsible for the writing. The versatile Carles Pedragosa, associated with Jordi Oriol's company, the artist of words ( L'empestat , La mala dicció... ).

The show's subtitle is "A Type of Ambiguous Gender," and its creators assure us they're giving their all to reach this Friday with a unique show, which could at times bring together 90 people on the Grec stage, with the band and choir ARSinNOVA. It's a commission from the festival, "based on the anti-gala," as director Leticia Martín describes it. And we can't think of anyone better to stage an anti-gala than the Indi Gest group.

The show lays the first stone for the Grec to become the nerve center of musicals in Europe.

“We loved being able to work with music and a large orchestral ensemble at Indi Gest,” says Pedragosa. “We started thinking about the repertoire, going back to the origins, but without having a complete story. We began working on something very eclectic, and José's eyes opened. And then we started thinking about the story. There are some performers and also a choir, with about twenty singers, because we needed a human depth on stage.” The actor-singers in the cast are Antoni Comas, Robert González, Bealia Guerra, Paula Malia, Clàudia Schneider, and Jordi Vidal.

On behalf of the Barcelona Municipal Band, Joan Xicola states: “The Barcelona band may seem like a very closed-minded group, but the mentality is very open. Putting on something that goes beyond the classical repertoire we perform at L'Auditori also excites us and excites us, and we give it our all.” He explains that they are rehearsing at L'Auditori, “dismantling all the platforms so that it resembles the stage at the Grec.”

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“It's a concert show, about which we shouldn't give too many spoilers,” Pedragosa continues. “But we will say that it's an institutional event where a cornerstone is laid, so that the Grec becomes the nerve center of musicals in Europe. It's one of those great city projects, ironically, that aims to reshape the Paral·lel and Montjuïc.” The project “also includes an American collection, but the event can't continue because remains are being found.” The purpose of the show is “to ensure that the city doesn't die, that the soul of art doesn't die in the city,” the playwright proclaims. “We need to be free to experience art fully.”

“The Wikipedia entry says that musical theater was invented by Americans in 1866. But that's not true, because this blend of music, dance, and theater has been going on here for a long time; the Greeks already did it. That's why there's a conference of specialists in the performance who discuss all of this, and tariffs and copyrights also appear,” notes the artist, adding that there are traces of musicals dating back to 2500 BC, and the show extends back to the musicals of the 1990s.

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Among the pieces that will be played throughout the evening will be pieces by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Carles Santos, as well as well-known musical moments by Jacques Offenbach, Kurt Weill, Cole Porter, and Gershwin, but also by Albert Guinovart. “We explore American musicals, but also reclaim European traditions, such as Sullivan's operettas. This piece emerges from this debate, where Americans claim it and Europeans claim it,” Pedragosa concludes.