The Minister of Culture and Sports, Patricia del Pozo, highlighted, at the presentation of the program for the 74th edition of the International Music and Dance Festival of Granada, the Andalusian festival’s commitment to combining «the presence of international companies and orchestras of reference, with the talent and creativity of the best Andalusian performers and companies, all selected under the prism of excellence.»
In this regard, the Minister announced the participation in the festival of numerous Andalusian companies and performers such as María Dueñas, Patricia Guerrero, Fahmi Alqhai, Ángeles Toledano, Accademia del Piacere, the City Orchestra of Granada, the Baroque Orchestra of Seville, the Flamenco Ballet of Andalucía, and the companies of Eva Yerbabuena and Manuel Liñán, among others.
Likewise, del Pozo emphasized that «the City Orchestra of Granada, one of the four institutional orchestras supported by the Ministry of Culture, will be the protagonist of one of the novelties of the festival, the charity concert for the World Monuments Fund, in support of the safeguarding of international heritage, which under the baton of William Eddin, will be a luxury prelude to the event.»
Del Pozo has highlighted the participation of the Orchestra and the Youth Choir of Andalusia, «one of the longest-running and successful training programs for Andalusian musicians,» in the cycle dedicated to live opera screenings, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the premiere of Bizet’s Carmen.
This event, with the debut of Venetian music manager Paolo Pinamonti in its programming direction, «is one of the key events in the Andalusian cultural calendar in the promotion and dissemination of music and dance on a grand scale, placing Granada at the center of European Culture,» Del Pozo emphasized.
Over 100 shows
Representatives of the governing institutions and their circle of patrons presented the 74th edition of the International Music and Dance Festival at the Carmen de los Mártires in Granada today. The event will take place between June 19 and July 13, 2025, with dates extended by two extraordinary activities: the educational project Opera Kids, centered around Rossini’s ‘Cinderella,’ and a charity concert. In total, over 100 shows have been scheduled: 41 for the festival and over 60 as part of the 22nd edition of the FEX, its extension to the neighborhoods of Granada city and various municipalities.
The program is structured around concerts at the Palace of Carlos V, the Opera and Cinema cycle, chamber music, recitals and morning concerts, dance, flamenco, and jazz. It also includes the Manuel de Falla Courses program, which, in its 56th edition, in addition to instrumental, vocal, and choreographic interpretation classes, will have a special focus on the world of cinema, audiovisuals, and music in the new digital era.
The festival will feature for the first time the prestigious Orchestra and Choir of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with its conductor Daniel Harding, presenting two programs of Ravel and Debussy, as well as Verdi’s ‘Requiem,’ one of the greatest sacred works. Also making their debut at the event are the Budapest Festival Orchestra, with their conductor Iván Fischer, and mezzo-soprano Gerhild Romberger. The festival will also introduce the Colombian conductor Andrés Orozco-Estrada who will offer three concerts: two with the SWR Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra and French pianist Alexandre Kantorow, and another leading the National Orchestra of Spain, with Granada violinist María Dueñas in the Spanish Symphony by Laló.
The City Orchestra of Granada (OCG) will offer two concerts, while Andrea Marcon returns to the event with La Cetra and its Basel ensembles to present Bach’s ‘Mass in B minor,’ heard only once in the long history of the festival, in what will be the opening concert of this 74th edition.
Opera makes a comeback in this edition with two silent film versions of ‘Carmen,’ under the direction of specialist Timothy Brock, with original scores performed live by the OGC; and with ‘Pagliacci’ by Leoncavallo with the Youth Orchestra and Choir of Andalusia, paired with Chaplin’s film ‘The Circus.’ The opera program culminates with the concert version of Verdi’s ‘La Traviata,’ premiered shortly before at the Teatro Real by its orchestra and choir conducted by Henrik Nánási and opera diva Nadine Sierra.
Among the chamber concerts and recitals, highlights include those by British tenor Ian Bostridge and a group of vocal and instrumental soloists interpreting Britten’s ‘Five Canticles’ for the first time at the festival. Pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard returns with the complete cycle of ‘Catalogue d’Oiseaux,’ a pinnacle of 20th-century piano music by Messiaen. The Youth Choir of Andalusia, directed by Marco Antonio García de Paz, will present a recital featuring choral works by four composers exploring sacred music from contemporary perspectives.
Several concerts have been scheduled around the figure of Juan-Alfonso García, Granada’s chapel master who passed away in 2015 and a driving force behind the Granada school of composition: the concert by the choral ensemble Numen Ensemble, directed by Héctor Eliel Márquez, premiering one of his works; the concert by soprano Pilar Alva-Martín and pianist Stefano Arena; the concert by the Arbós Trio with Juan Carlos Garvayo and the New Granada Music under the guidance of Juan-Alfonso García.
Nacho de Paz, one of the most connected Spanish directors to contemporary creation, will conduct a group of soloists from the OCG, pianist Lluïsa Espigolé and German mezzo-soprano Annette Schönmüller. The Baroque Orchestra of Seville pays tribute to Juan-Alfonso García on the tenth anniversary of his death, while renowned countertenor and conductor Carlos Mena and the Festival’s Baroque Academy celebrate the 300 years since the death of Alessandro Scarlatti.
Additionally, the couple Michel and Yasuko Bouvard will offer an organ recital spanning over four centuries of music and including a piece by Juan-Alfonso García. Other notable recitals include those by French pianist Alexandre Tharaud; American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky; organist Juan María Pedrero, and the ensembles Accademia del Piacere and Constantinople.
International dance will be represented in this edition of the festival by great classics and new creations: Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo with ‘Romeo & Juliet’; the Ballet of Angelin Preljocaj with a groundbreaking version of ‘Swan Lake,’ and the veteran Italian company Aterballeto with a new ‘Don Juan’ by Johan Inger.
Flamenco features three great Granada artists, national dance award winners, Manuel Liñán with ‘Muerta de amor’; Eva Yerbabuena with ‘To Granada’; as well as Patricia Guerrero, director of the Flamenco Ballet of Andalucía, in collaboration with Fahmi Alqhai and his Accademia del Piacere, presenting the work ‘Origin, the seed of time’. Two great voices of contemporary flamenco, the Toledo-born Andalusian singer Israel Fernández, and the Jaén-native Ángeles Toledano, both appearing for the first time at the festival, complete this section.
Finally, jazz is present at the event with three great performances: by pianists Lucía Rey and Chico Pérez, as well as the Andrea Motis Duo.