José María Cano conquers the public of the Palau
Irene Genoves, El Mundo (Spain), June 16, 1998

The opera 'Luna' was well received in Valencia after having been spurned by the Teatro Real

The opera 'Luna', one of the most controversial and anticipated musical events of the year, has been premiered with all the glamour one could hope for. With a capacity of 1,790, the Sala Iturbi of the Palau de la Música was completely sold out. Opera fans (and José María Cano fans), 'inquisitive minds', officials and more than 100 journalists did not want to miss the premiere of the work that had been spurned by the Teatro Real and that ended in Valencia with the audience on its feet for five minutes, clapping wildly.

The stage brought together the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Comunidad Valenciana, 47 children from the Nuestra Señora Virgen de los Desamparados choir school, the Valencia chorus, tenor Plácido Domingo, mezzosoprano Agnes Baltsa and sopranos Ainhoa Arteta and María José Martos.

In the front row

Yves Abel, director of the Monte Carlo opera, was waving the baton. In the front row, the composer José María Cano, who during last week had been rehearsing at the Palau de la Música and giving free rein to his emotions.

The opera was not presented in its entirety and the programme unfolded in what seemed a somewhat chaotic pattern jumping from one scene to another without following the appointed order. The concert version gathered the pieces from the CD [cf. the discography], plus a duet between Ainhoa Arteta and María José Martos, a choral piece and some transition pieces between the romances. Cano acknowledged on the day of the dress rehearsal that he had already reworked the piece seven times and that he thought to go on modifying it 'until the day I die'.

The moments that were the most warmly received were two of Plácido Domingo's performances, 'Te quiero morena' and 'Un gitano sin su honor'. The participation of dancer Antonio Canales was planned in the later piece but he did not perform due to the death of one of his brothers in a traffic accident.

What also drew some attention was the fact that Plácido Domingo yielded his place to another tenor, Ignacio Giner, in one of the star pieces, 'Fuego de amor'. The debut of the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Comunidad Valenciana raised some expectation while the Valencia chorus, who had alreaded seduced Cano with their performance of 'Turandot' at the Teatro Real, captivated the audience in the two pieces in which they took part, 'Fuego de amor' and 'Conjuro' where they accompanied both sopranos and the Nuestra Señora Virgen de los Desamparados choir school, composed of children between 8 and 13.

A long-standing controversy

The premiere of Luna was the end of a long controversy surrounding the quality of the work. Among the numerous critics, some blamed Cano for the fact that he availed himself of the use of a computer without bringing anything new to the musical world, as well as designing a very popular programme, with rhythms for all tastes, from the pasodoble to more flamenco chords.

For Domingo, nevertheless, 'the work has great power, with an important poetic meaning'. Thus the tenor was reaffirming the support he has been lending for months to Cano's composition, always insisting that 'what is important is the opera 'Luna', not the fact that I am singing in it'. However, one must not forget that the date of the premiere was chosen by the tenor himself in agreement with his working agenda. Teresa Berganza, nevertheless, dropped out of the 'Luna' project when faced with the numerous critical voices [Berganza sings on the studio CD recorded in September 1997; Ed.].
Translation by Christine Roche

What also drew some attention was the fact that Plácido Domingo yielded his place to another tenor, Ignacio Giner, in one of the star pieces, 'Fuego de amor'.

послушал романсы из "Луны". Ох как красиво!!!  029  029  029
Особенно посадобль хорош! Я чуть в пляс ни пустился  001

а вот еще и "Фонтенбло"