Dr. Eric Conway writes:
We
only have one more full day left in Spain. What an eye-opening
experience for us all - experiencing the food, people, and overall
culture. After eating one of the better breakfasts of any of our
hotels, we embarked on another excursion on foot, this time in Seville.
We had already experienced one of the most well-known activities of
this region, the Flamenco dancing last evening.
Over
the years, somehow we have always managed to tour on days of local
holidays. Today was the holiday - Festival of San Fernando -
celebrating the commemorating the death of King Ferdinand III. All
businesses were closed. Streets were virtually deserted. As we walked
through the streets of Seville, we noticed a remarkable structure in the
center of town called the Parasol Metrosol that looked like a big
mushroom - quite impressive.
One
of the principal sites scheduled to see was the Palacio de los Reales
Alcazares - the Alcazar of Seville. An Alcazar is the name of a Moorish
castle - meaning fortified castle. This palace was built during Muslim
rule. This castle is still the Seville residence of the royal family
of Spain - making this the oldest palace in Europe still in use today.
We visited the beautiful castle and gardens. (see photos attached).
Many musicians may know this city due to two of the most famous operas ever - Rossini's Barber in Seville and Bizet’s Carmen.
We visited the actual home of the barber of Seville, a yellow three
story house. Also, Seville is the 2nd most popular city of bull
fighting in the country, thus the story of Carmen takes place in
Seville, Spain. One of the houses was designated as the place where the
two leads, Carmen and José spent most of their time in the opera.
Seville is a big city for opera lovers as there are many operas that
took place in the town of Seville, the capital of the province of
Andalusia.
Next, the choir walked to a local
radio station for an interview and LIVE performance for a listening
audience of over forty thousand. Although it was news that we, an
American choir, were in Seville, however, it was not good to promote a
concert that was sold-out. Rather than air the segment in a sound-proof
studio, we recorded in interior courtyard of the radio station building
with the host beside us. We then returned to our hotel for a group
lunch.
For the first time we had about four
hours, prior to our last concert in Spain to do as we would like, prior
to departing Spain the next day. Many chose to stay in the hotel and
rest, however, many went out on their own to explore the city. There
is virtually no crime in the city, thus everyone felt safe.
Tonight’s
concert at the Espacio Turina, was sold out like the previous concert
in Toledo. I was told that this hall was considered to have some of the
best acoustics in all of Spain. This hall’s capacity was 486 compared
to 410 in Toledo.
Again, our concerts in the smaller communities
typically receive much more attention. Unlike the Toledo audience who
was very appreciative, Sevilla, perhaps knowing that this was our last
concert, met every song and action with unbridled enthusiasm.
In
an effort to connect with the Spanish audience better, rather than have
an interpreter beside me during the concert, I attempted to announce
the entire concert in Spanish. I took Spanish for several years as a
teenager, but since that time have taken German, French and Italian
which further dissolved by Spanish. With the help of our guide, and
attempting to speak as much Spanish as possible since our arrival, I was
able to pull off what seemed impossible. For those of you who speak
Spanish, see my script attached, read at times from my iPhone on stage!
At
the end of the concert, at the beckoning of the audience, we sang one
more song as an encore which aroused the audience more. We were
startled at the audience's reaction, in trying to get us to stay, they
did not simply clap or cheer but as the any good flamenco dancer would
do, began to start stomping their feet. Some thought the balconies were
going to collapse! We finally left, after our drummer continued to give
a show after we left the stage.
As a
choir member said, leaving Spain will be bitter-sweet. We have had a
great time in Spain, but it was now time for us to move on to Portugal
for our last days of the tour. See photos taken during this last full
day in Spain.
EC
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