On Monday May 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Oriol Martorell Room 2 of the Auditori de Barcelona, ??the concert "MEDEA" will take place, within the 10th cycle of concerts "Els teus clàssics" organized by the Joan Association Manén. This is one of the outstanding concerts of the Joan Manén Year in which you will be able to hear works by Ricard Lamote de Grignon, Eduard Toldrà and the performance of one of the most unusual and original works by Joan Manén, the monodrama Medea for actress, string orchestra, organ and piano, with text by Ambrosi Carrión.

The interpreters will be the Terrassa 48 Chamber Orchestra, with Quim Termens as concertmaster-conductor, the actress Susanna Garachana, the organist Juan de la Rubia and the pianist Daniel Blanch. The concert will feature audiovisual production by Iago Blasi, stage direction by Ignasi Cristià and wardrobe by Miriam Compte.

Medea was premiered on December 15, 1932 at the Palau de la Música. The Orchestra of the Philharmonic Society of Barcelona conducted by Joan Manén with the organist Vicent María Gibert, the pianist Pere Vallribera and the dancer Àurea de Sarrà were in charge of the premiere.

Medea is a monodrama, a new type of work in which there is a very special symbiosis between the word and the music so that the latter is transformed into a sound background of extraordinary strength that allows the emotions and drama of the Medea myth to be highlighted. The person who created the text for this work was the poet and playwright Ambrosi Carrión, who worked side by side with the composer to create a total work of art. Medea achieved great success at its premiere and several performances were made at the Palau de la Música between 1932 and 1933. Àurea de Sarrà, the famous dancer who achieved extraordinary success in Europe with her choreographies giving voice to the goddesses of Greek mythology, said of the work: "it is a symphonic poem in which the word acquires a preponderant place. Its drama and inspiration is something definitive".

The last known performance of this work took place in 1959 at the Palau de la Música. Almost 62 years later, we will be able to enjoy this work again, one of the most unusual and original works by Joan Manén, in the year in which the 50th anniversary of his death is commemorated. In this concert, the audiovisual illustrations created by Iago Blasi will be added that will enhance the drama of Medea, the archetype of a transgressive and independent woman.

Tickets (20 euros) can be purchased at: https://www.auditori.cat/es/32166