World premiere of the performance piece La

World premiere of the performance piece La seducción de Angela at Ch.ACO’15 • Written by Alberto Mayol, Chilean sociologist, and composed by Miguel Farias, musician, the world premiere of the pocket opera La seducción de Ángela shall take place at Ch.ACO’15. Days later, on October 3rd, the performance shall be presented at the IV Projecte Rafel Festival in Spain, and in 2016, this piece shall form part of the opera Maquiavelo encadenado, to be presented at Santiago’s Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (GAM). Performance as an act of provocation, product of an improvisation or of an artistic action in a scenario, arrives at Ch.ACO this year with La seducción de Ángela, a pocket opera written by Chilean sociologist and political analyst Alberto Mayol, inspired in a monologue by Ángela Merkel, German Chancellor and symbol for public spending reform policies in Europe after the 2008 economic crisis. “The key concept of per government in Germany and her leadership in Europe has been ‘austerity’, a concept that has generated a new scenario amongst those who support her policies and those who reject them,” Mayol explains. Thus, the piece constructs the argument of a personal motivation behind Merkel’s actions towards indebted countries, in which Angela is driven by a broken heart following a letdown with an Italian who seduces then ignores her, and so contaminates her political actions with pain. Composed by Miguel Farías, and with Francisco Núñez’ musical direction, Macarena Valenzuela’s performance, and Rodrigo Adaos’ visual art, the opera lasts for ten minutes and relies on diverse stylistic resources. On one hand are the “political citations”, which portray real scenes from Merkel’s life, such as her controversial appearance on television showing support for measures taken against Palestinian refugees, in which she made a girl cry; the day that gave origin to ‘austerity’ as a concept, when she arrived to meet different heads of government with a coffee thermos in her hand so as to avoid restaurant costs; or the day on which she fainted watching Tristan and Isolda. On the other hand, the play relies on “musical citations”, which allude to Germany or to romantic oeuvres by citing other authors’ works, such as the Bavarian March, Don Giovanni, Romeo and Juliet, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. About Alberto Mayol University professor, investigator, and writer. Academic associated to the Administration and Economy Faculty of the Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Investigator at the Universidad de Chile’s Observatorio del Libro y la Lectura. Sociologist with a Bachelor’s Degree in Aesthetics, Master’s Degree in Political Science, and a Ph.D in Sociology. Author of the books El Derrumbe del Modelo (Municipal Award for best essay of 2012), No al Lucro (2012), El Chile Profundo (2013), La Nueva Mayoría o el Fantasma de la Concertación (2014) and Economía política del fracaso (2015). He has written two opera librettos in collaboration with composer Miguel Farias, which shall be staged in 2016 and 2017. He is the librettist of the pocket opera La seducción de Angela, which shall be launched at Ch.ACO Fair ’15. He lives and works in Santiago. About Miguel Farías Chilean composer, born in Venezuela in 1983. He studied in Chile, Switzerland, and France. He is the recipient of diverse international awards, such as: Injuve 2007 (Spain), Luis Advis 2007 (Chile), Frederic Mompou (Barcelona, Spain), Joan Guinjoan 2013, Manuel Valcarcel 2013, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra’s BMW Live Music Contest Award (Munich, Germany), amongst others. He has also been a finalist at contests such as Isang Yun Music Prize 2007 (Korea), Tactus 2008 (Belgium) and Queen Elisabeth 2009 (Belgium), Reina Sofía (Spain), amongst others. His compositions have been interpreted by ensembles such as: Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble Aleph, Ensemble Proxima Centauri, amongst others; and by orchestras such as: Orquesta de Radio y Television Española, Orchestre de Lille, Orchestre de Lorraine, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Chile, amongst others. During 2008, he was a resident composer at the Aleph Ensemble’s Forum for young composers (France), and between 2010 and 2013, he was a resident at the Blindman Ensemble (Belgium). He was also selected by the 2010 Ircam/Ensemble Intercontemporain’s reading committee as a finalist for the Tremplin Program that year. In 2011 and 2013 he was a finalist in the “Composer Project” and “Roche Commissions” programs at the Lucerne Festival, with Pierre Boulez as a juror. Also, in June of 2012, his opera Renca, París y Liendres was premiered in Santiago, Chile, interpreted by the Chilean Orquesta Sinfonica, with great commotion from the audience and excellent reviews. The opera received the Circulo de Criticos de Arte Award under the national opera category in 2012 and the Altazor Award for National Arts in 2013. Coordinates La seducción de Ángela shall be presented at Centro Cultural Estación Mapocho on the following dates: ♦ Premiere: Thursday, September 24th at 19:00 hrs, during the Fair’s protocol pre-­‐inauguration, attended by press and authorities, in the Conversations area. A second performance shall take place at 20:15 during Ch.ACO Opening Night. Once the Fair is open to the general public, the performance shall take place at the following times: ♦ Friday 25th at 19:30 and 20:00 hrs, in front of the Estacion Mapocho building. ♦ Saturday 26th at 18:00, 19:00, and 20:00 hrs, Sala de las Artes. ♦ Sunday 27th at 17:00, 18:00 and 19:00 hrs, Sala de las Artes. For more information, visit the press area at www.feriachaco.cl/prensa or write to: Francisca Gabler Ch.ACO Press Cellphone: +56 9 9873 7385 [email protected]