Ballet Nacional de España «Medea» Festival de Mérida

On July 5th, the Ballet Nacional de España opens the Festival de Mérida with the revival of Medea that premiered 30 years ago.

The Orquesta de Extremadura joins the show for this masterwork of Spanish dance with the music of Manolo Sanlúcar and the choreography of José Granero.

The legend of Medea that Seneca gave to the world returns to the Teatro Romano of Mérida in its flamenco version in the interpretation of the Ballet Nacional de España and the Extremadura Orchestra, to open the 59th Festival Internacional de Teatro Clásico de Mérida.

Both companies will bring to the stage the work that the Ballet Español debuted thirty years ago as it was conceived by choreographer José Granero, composer Manolo Sanlúcar and script-writer Miguel Narros.  In these three decades, Medea has become one of the most representative and globally acclaimed works of the Ballet Nacional.

Antonio Najarro, director of the Ballet Nacional since 2011, directed this version of Medea that will open the festival, and which stars dancers Maribel Gallardo on the 5th and 7th and Esther Jurado on the 6th.  A total of nearly twenty dancers will bring the show to life, accompanied by fifty musicians of the Extremadura Orchestra directed by Alvaro Albiach and José Antonio Montaño.

With this show, Spanish dance transmits the greatness of one of the eternal stories of universal theater, which, through the deep expression of flamenco, becomes even more moving: the story of Medea, witch, magician, descendent of the sun, after betraying her father and her race by helping the Greek adventurer Jason to conquer the Golden Fleece, she murders his brother and the chopped-up body is strewn throughout Colquida to prevent the father’s persecution.

Jason and Medea arrive to Tesalia where the uncle of Jason, called Pelías, is king, has stolen the crown that rightfully pertained to Jason.  Medea decides to get rid of Pelías to punish his daughters who ridiculed her being a barbaric and primitive woman, and to recuperate the power of Jason.  Medea possesses the secret of giving vitality back to the elderly.  She persuades the daughters of Pelías to let her use her black magic on the ancient father, and the result is that he dies in terrible torment, while the daughters are blamed for the heinous murder.

Medea triumphs yet again, but she cast a cloud over Jason’s existence, and he ends up hating her.

Medea is not only barbaric, she is also a woman, and she throws herself into the eternal struggle of man versus woman.  Just another savage woman whose story has been enjoyed ever since the world is the world.  For Medea, there can be no justice, only maddening vengeance.

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