Pilar Jurado

Pilar Jurado is one of the most prominent figures in European classical music. A composer, singer, and conductor, she made history as the first woman to premiere her own opera, "La página en blanco" (*The Blank Page*), at the Teatro Real, also serving as the librettist and performing one of the lead roles. She has performed as a soprano with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and, as a composer, has premiered nearly a hundred works, receiving commissions from major international festivals, orchestras, instrumental ensembles, and soloists of renown.

The program she presents in this concert, alongside baritone Luis Santana, features a selection of great arias in homage to Maria Callas, including several pieces by Rossini, Verdi, and Donizetti; arias from Mozart’s *Don Giovanni*; and the iconic "Casta Diva" from Bellini’s *Norma*.

PIALR JURADO - Soprano

Pilar Jurado is one of the most unique figures in European classical music, considered the muse of contemporary creation. She has premiered over 100 works by national and international composers.

Born in Madrid, she received her musical training at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música, where she earned top honors in singing, piano, composition, orchestral conducting, musicology, and music pedagogy.

Her versatility has led her to take on significant challenges in interpretation, creation, and her desire to be part of the historical moment in which she lives has driven her to explore new paths through experimentation with other musical styles. In 2008, she founded her own record label.

Among the many awards she has received are the Ojo Crítico Prize from RNE, the first SGAE Prize for Musical Composition, the 2010 Capri Prize, the 2011 Top Woman of the Year in the Arts at the Glamour Awards, and recognition as one of the Top 100 Leading Women in Spain.

In recent years, she has released the albums Arias de cine with the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra and El diablo en el poder with the RTVE Orchestra and Choir. It is worth noting that Pilar Jurado co-founded the international initiative Music Against Child Labour, launched in 2013 by the International Labour Organization (ILO) alongside some of the world’s most renowned conductors, such as Claudio Abbado, José Antonio Abreu, and Daniel Barenboim. Recently, as part of this initiative, she composed the lullaby Nana para dormir a un niño que no descansa.

She has performed as a soprano with major orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Deutsche Oper Berlin Orchestra, Spanish National Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, among others, under the baton of conductors such as G. Sinopoli, J. Levine, R. Frübeck de Burgos, A. Tamayo, G. Noseda, E. García Asensio, A. Ros Marbá, J. R. Encinar, P. Halffter, Beat Furrer, Kuame Ryan, L. Pfaff, E. P. Salonen, M. Schøntwandt, and others.

LUIS SANTANA - Baritone

This Zamoran baritone began his musical studies at the age of five, studying with some of the greatest masters such as Juana Peñalver, Consuelo Barrio, María Teresa Manzano, Miguel Zanetti, and currently with the eminent Spanish tenor Pedro Lavirgen and with Teresa Berganza.

He has performed in the most important theaters and concert halls in our country: Gran Teatro del Liceo, Auditorio Nacional de Música, Fundación Juan March, Auditorio de Zaragoza, Maestranza de Sevilla, Principal de Alicante, Cervantes de Málaga, Miguel Delibes and Teatro Calderón de Valladolid, Romea de Murcia, Auditorio de León, Fundación Príncipe de Asturias, Círculo de Bellas Artes de Madrid, Vigo, Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña, Gran Teatro de Córdoba, Gran Teatro de Huelva, Falla de Cádiz, Batel de Cartagena, Principal de Vitoria, Victoria Eugenia de San Sebastián, Palacio de Congresos de Granada, Mérida, Circo de Albacete, Auditorio de Cuenca, San Lorenzo del Escorial, Maestro Padilla de Almería, etc...

Cities such as Rome, Paris, Milan, Naples, Budapest, Toulon, Bucharest, Donetsk, Iasi, Brașov, Lviv, Rousse, Riga, Oporto, Lisbon, Vienna, Eisenach...

He has been conducted by batons of the stature of García, Roa, Frizzi, Osa, Wilson, Alapont, Lencko, Vasilenko, Diadura, Monsalve, Abelló, Sainz Alfaro, Ortega, Popa, Mesa, Todorov, and many others....

Memorable concerts at the Basilica of El Pilar in Zaragoza in the presence of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at the Auditorio Nacional de Música alongside the legendary Orfeón Donostiarra in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen, Mozart's Requiem at Seville Cathedral, Brahms' Requiem at the Old Cathedral of Salamanca, Tribute to Victoria de los Ángeles at the church where she was baptized, Tribute to Teresa Berganza and Antón García Abril. Tribute at the Auditorio de Lleida to Ainhoa Arteta. Concert tour with the great Nati Mistral, and the late Paco Valladares on Spanish poetry. Inauguration of the Soriano Musical Autumn festival under the baton of Odón Alonso. Robles de Laciana Festival alongside Rosa Torres-Pardo, International Festival of Úbeda, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, etc...