Silvio Rodríguez Bel Canto, lyrical tribute to an immense work

January 7, 2020

As a tribute to the immense work of the renowned Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez and, especially to the 50 years of his emblematic song 'Óleo de mujer con sombrero', the third edition of the lyrical project by Helson Hernández will arrive, under the label "Silvio Rodríguez Bel Canto".

With the precedent of a first and second installment with the titles Pablo Milanés Bel Canto (2015) and Amaury Pérez Bel Canto (2019), respectively, the new initiative will be presented, a recital where Silvio's troubadour compositions will be performed by instrumentalists and voices from concert music.

The event will take place, according to the creator and artistic director of the project, at six in the afternoon on January 22 at the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís, with the sponsorship of Producciones Ojalá, the Office of the Historian of La Habana, the Instituto Cubano de la Música and the Ministry of Culture.

Thus, according to Hernández, Rodríguez will be the special guest of an evening that will feature 17 pieces from his extensive musical career, including the honored 'Óleo de mujer con sombrero' and others that recently had anniversaries such as 'Hay quien precisa' and 'La maza' (40 years) and 'Ojalá' (50 years).

The arrangements were undertaken by violinists Jorge Amado Molina and Ana Karla Recio, pianist Rosa García Oropesa, tenor Jorge Félix Leyva, oboist Jorge Daniel Ruíz, guitarist Zuleida Suárez and maestro Ana Martín, who will participate in the concert along with other performers.

The program, which proposes a great diversity of lyrical voices accompanied by different chamber formations, will have among its guests the Mexican soprano Lili Nogueras and the Cuban guitarist based in the Aztec country, Josue Tacoronte, who created the arrangements for the occasion of the songs 'Rabo de Nube' and 'La vida'.

Also to be heard will be voices already known from the contemporary lyrical panorama of the largest of the Antilles such as sopranos Yohana Simón, Dayri Llanes, Yoslaine Derrick, mezzo-soprano Giselle Polanco, baritone Reynaldo Cobas, tenors Carlos Humberto Lara and Yancel Guevara, in a list of 21 participants.

Silvio Rodríguez Bel Canto will also be dedicated to the 25 years that the concert hall of the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís has reached and to the 45 of the radio station Radio Metropolitana, which will receive a commemorative seal for its anniversary, granted by the presidency of the Instituto Cubano de Radio y Televisión.

Helson Hernández also informed the press that the recital will open with the song 'Unicornio' and close with 'Ángél para un final', and that the next installment of the project will arrive under the name Santiago Feliú Bel Canto.