Victor Sgarbi is an Opera Singer, Actor, Musical Theatre Singer, Baritone, writer, producer and voice-over artist. He dedicates part of his time to being a mentor to his pupils.
SUMMER 2024
COMMING SOON...
Set in eighteenth century Spain, the plot of L’heure espagnole centers around Concepción, the restless and lusty wife of a preoccupied clockmaker (Torquemada). When the unsuspecting Torquemada leaves to make his rounds attending to the the municipal clocks, Concepción finds herself juggling two lovers who have turned up on the same day, and who end up concealing themselves in the cabinets of grandfather clocks. Gonzalve is a self-absorbed student poet, while the older and more corpulent Don Iñigo Gomez is a buffoonish banker. Concepción is irritated, initially, by the presence of yet another man, Ramiro, a muscular muleteer who has come to the shop to have his watch repaired. By the end, Ramiro proves to be the ultimate handyman in more ways than one. Only in the opera’s final moments do the five characters come together as a quintet. Stepping out of character to form a kind of Greek chorus, they distill a moral from the silliest of stories.
With L’heure espagnole, derided by critics as “musical pornography” following its premiere, Ravel set out to revive the tradition of opera buffa. Throughout the work, the music magically and effortlessly gives us the impression of spoken language. As Ravel’s student and biographer, Roland-Manuel, wrote, “The language of the music is linked up as naturally as possible with the music of the language.” Ravel, born in the Basque region, infused the score with Spanish flavor, including such dances as the malagueña, the jota, and the habañera.
"The Spectacular Library of The Reform Club Stands Supreme Among its Contemporaries, Radiating Elegance with its Opulent Gold and Regal Red Fusion."
