Ballet Nacional de España presents El loco on the 150th anniversary of the Gran Teatro de Córdoba

Rubén Olmo, director of the Ballet Nacional de España, said that he was very clear about wanting to revive a work from the Ballet’s historic repertoire such as El loco: “It is of great importance in the history of Spanish dance. The plot of this ballet tells a true story: the staging of El sombrero de tres picos for the Ballets Russes. Manuel de Falla, Pablo Picasso and Félix Fernández were involved in it, the latter a bailaor who would play a fundamental role in this new creation: bringing the style and character of Spanish dance and flamenco to that ballet.”

The creation of El loco involved a creative team that shaped a first-rate ensemble work, making its revival a milestone on the Spanish dance scene. The original idea, libretto and stage direction were by Paco López; the choreography by Javier Latorre; the musical creation by Mauricio Sotelo and Juan Manuel Cañizares; the set and costume design by Jesús Ruiz; and the lighting design by Nicolás Fischtel. All of them have come together once again to bring this work from the Ballet Nacional de España’s repertoire back to life.

Paco López noted that “El loco tells the drama of the artist’s disillusionment, the heartrending conflict of a man who lives his own reality transformed into a world he does not understand and feels to be radically hostile. My ‘Loco’ has much of the Quixotic character about him.” He also stated that his intention with this work was not to create historiography, “but rather a fiction through which to reflect on the artist and his ghosts; while also paying due tribute to the great Spanish creators — Falla, Picasso and others — of the interwar period of the 20^th century, and to the genre of Spanish ballet, turning it into the protagonist of a new ballet.”

Rubén Olmo also wanted to highlight the importance of reviving a narrative ballet with a leading role for a male principal dancer. “The Ballet Nacional de España has many narrative ballets, but almost all of them have a female lead. With El loco, the figure of a male character is brought to the forefront.”

With the revival of El loco, Rubén Olmo has acknowledged that this is also a tribute to a choreographer such as Javier Latorre, who has given great works to the Spanish National Ballet.

Musically, in addition to featuring the BNE’s flamenco musicians live, the production will be performed with the new musical recording made with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, under the musical direction of Manuel Coves.

Since its premiere this past December at Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela, El loco has also been presented at the 27^th Festival de Jerez.

El loco for young people

Once again, and in collaboration with the Gran Teatro de Córdoba, students from the Luis del Río Professional Dance Conservatory will attend the dress rehearsal, where they will have the opportunity to be introduced to the interactive booklet El loco for Young People. It is the fifth issue in the series of educational publications #BNEnoscuenta, launched by the Spanish National Ballet in 2020. This publication aims to introduce younger generations to the life and artistic career of Félix “El loco”. In this booklet, young people will find QR links to interviews and videos of the work.

Program:

El loco
Ballet Nacional de España

Gran Teatro de Córdoba

March 3^rd, 2023, 8:00 p.m.