The voice of Amancio Prada will be devoted one more time to poetry. In 1986, in the anniversary of the death of Lorca, Amancio Prada sang for the first time his version of ‘Sonetos del amor oscuro’. ‘Only Amancio Prada could sign the late Federico who wrote Amor Oscuro’, wrote at the time Francisco Umbral on the occasion of the sensitive tribute to Lorca paid by Prada. ‘Only Amancio Prada because he is singer of dying moments, singer of the miserable times of the heart, the times when there is hardly ever time for live or die’.

Now, Prada performs again this sonnets in a programme where they are combined with other songs and ghazals of the same author. ‘A sincere poetry, an uncontrollable passion and at the same time controllable in such a strict model of poetic architecture. Dark love sonnets? In my opinion, Love sonnets, plainly’, says the singer-songwriter and composer from León.

This is the second time that Amancio performs at this Festival. The first one was three years ago when he played ‘Inéditos y clásicos’, a recital which went through the 40 years of his first disc.

Serenates has the support of the City Hall of Valencia (Councils of Cultural, Festivities and Youth), the Valencian Provincial Council, the Higher Institute of Artistic Teaching of the Valencian Community (ISEACV), The Valencian Academy of Language, the Bancaja Foundation, the Sabadell Bank Foundation and the French Institute of Valencia.

‘Serenates’ continues in July

On Saturday July 1st, Capella i Escolania of the Misteri d’Elx will perform at the Cloister of La Nau this exceptional sample of the medieval theatre which is recognised by UNESCO as a master piece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001.

Between 6 and 9 July, the programming of ‘Serenates’ is coproduced with the ‘July Festival’ and it adopts a more popular and folk character. The first concert will be the 6 at the Cloister but the rest will take place at the Patriarca Square. It will be a concert of the group Danses del Corpus de Valencia. The entry to all concerts is free.

On 7 the groups of dolçaines, tabalers and percussion of La Socarrà and the Universitat de València, which are directed by Pere Molina i Gonzàlez, will act.

On 8 July it will be the turn of Sociedad Musical Santa María Magdalena de Novelda, directed by Juan José Cuenca, with a programme of festive music. The singer-songwriter from Alcúdia, Jonatan Penalba, will close the festival on Sunday 9 with ‘De so ca-rel’.