Horacio Franco celebrated his return to the stage this Thursday with his participation in the “Mexican Night” concert, accompanied by the Opera Ensemble of the Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP) whose tenor, sopranos and pianist highlighted the renowned flutist.
The concert held at the UDLAP Jenkins Graduate School began with performances by tenor Joaquín Cruz, and sopranos Victoria Morales, Frida Sánchez and Désiré Doilin, accompanied on piano by Rurik Rus. They were all loudly applauded by an audience that was a lover and connoisseur of music.
The pieces performed by the Opera Ensemble were “Six archaic poems”; “I want to die more to see you”; “Zagaleja del Casar”; “Of the mountains”,
“Sol, sol, gi, gi”, among other songs, mostly from the repertoire of Mexican composers such as Manuel M. Ponce.
Horacio Franco expressed the importance of being able to hold a face-to-face concert after the pandemic, “I came out of my confinement, and for me it was a rebirth,” he said.
He was generous in explaining that the repertoire prepared for “Mexican Night” is made up of melodies that have been considered exquisite within the French baroque genre and era, also qualifying them as sexy pieces within contemporary language.
Mari Carmen Palafox, vice-rector for student liaison at the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, opened the evening with a few words in which she highlighted the importance of spreading culture for the institution.
In addition to encouraging university students to “share the stage with an artist of the stature of Horacio Franco, allowing them to show their talent, in this case for opera, today music unites us, which is not only a universal art , but it’s also timeless.”
Horacio Franco supported these university promotion actions so that artists in training fulfill their dreams and aspirations, he said.
With an extraordinary mastery of the flute, accompanied on the harpsichord by Daniel Ortega, Horacio Franco interpreted pieces by Antonio Vivaldi (1688-1741), such as Sonata Op 2 N°. 9, in E minor; Prelude (Andante) – Capriccio (Allegro) – Giga (Allegro) – Gavotta (Presto) and Chaconne from Suite Op.2 No. 1 and Chaconne from Suite Op. 2 No. 4, by Louis Antoine Dornel (1680-1765 ), of which he said he was fascinated by the emotions they convey, “between the festive and the melancholy”.
Of each author Horacio Franco made a description of both his semblance and his music.
Before a large audience, the tenor Joaquín Cruz, in addition to coordinating cultural activities at UDLAP, thanked Maestro Franco on his behalf, that of the sopranos and the pianist, for having been able to share the stage with him, which means a watershed in his carrer.
