The programme prepared by the different institutions involved in the celebration of the third edition of the Month of the French Culture in Cuba has been varied. Nevertheless, only two projects referred to lyric singing were chosen.
The first one was the extended suite of the opera Romeo and Juliet by Charles Gounod, and the second one, the concert of the countertenor Lesby Bautista, under the title Sentimental Colloquium, which had the participation of young and talented musicians from different artistic fields.
The central theme was the music of Reynaldo Hahn, famous composer, singer, pianist, orchestra conductor and musical critic, this time with the lyrics by Paul Verlaine, Théophile de Viau, Régnier and other French poets.
Reynaldo Hahn was a prodigy child. He was born in Venezuela and he moved to Paris when he was a kid, where he would later become a disciple of famous Maestros such as Jules Massenet, Charles Gounod and Camille Saint-Saëns. Since his early years, Hahn was able to catch the essence of the Belle Époque and also to reflect it in his work in an excellent way, based on the most classical French tradition.
Despite the rainy afternoon, the weather, instead of conspiring, became a perfect poetic allied for this intimate evening that took place in the Floorof Universal Artat the National Museum of Fine Arts.
Lesby Bautista is a countertenor who has known how to seize every upgrading opportunity he has had in Cuba and abroad, which translates into a career with a vertiginous rise. Lots of good taste, amazing musicality, poetic sense and excellence in the chamber art within a concert of the highest level.
For this occasion, he was accompanied by the young and talented pianist LannySuárez, who was able to play with a pleasant stylistic refinement every musical and poetic phrase. Sensitivity and good taste are two of her characteristics.
Besides the pianist, Bautista had the accompaniment of the Stringed Quartet Alma (Soul), under the direction of Amaya Jústiz, who played in an accurate way the cycle of Gray Songs, which had the debut in this format for the occasion thanks to the help and talent of Yaliev Alvarez.
The cycle of songs was the greatest challenge, because between multicolored textures and harmonies, they take you from a sentimental side to an intellectual one, to meet later in a common ground which is poetry, something that was perfectly interiorized and displayed by the group and the singer.
We can specifically highlight the songs A Chloris, L`enamourée, Fêtegalante and D´uneprison, which took the audience into an intimate emotion. Like wise, Nocturne and Danslanuit were performed in a cultured way.
Stereotypes are unnecessary in order to make good music, because that music, in the hands and voices of exquisite artists who are able to place every gesture, every inflexion, every introspection, just to take us to meetour most intimate feelings.
The soprano Kirenia Corzo is also to highlight, who has developed a rising career while singing with excellence the pieces Le Rossignol des Lilas, Mai and Le Printemps with clear phrases, great musicality, perfect tuningand a very sweet performance.
An even bigger surprise was having the actress Inima Fuentes, an emergent artist, with a strong desire to workand who, little by little, has managed to achievea repertoire in different areas according to her profile. She had an impact in the senses of the audience with the declamation of the poem Colloque Sentimental by Paul Verlaine.
Undoubtedly, an unforgettable concert that was really appreciated by the audience with strong applause, and which Bautista thanked by performing again, in the way of an encore, La hora exquisita (The Exquisite Hour).
Translation by Alberto Morales
