Temporada Alta performing arts festival sells 85% total tickets
From October 5 to December 10 in the north of the country, the event brings both Catalan and international plays to over 49,000 attendees
Fall in Catalonia brings a plethora of activities, festivals, and holidays—but for many, autumn is synonymous with Temporada Alta, the renowned performing arts festival in the northern town of Girona. And at its halfway mark, the two-month event has already sold 85% of its total tickets.
Festival director Salvador Sunyer put sales at over 49,000 tickets for the 27th edition of the event that runs from October 5 to December 10, which he also described as that having drawn “the most people.”
From the international….
Temporada Alta is also known for bringing a variety of international works to Catalonia, which is why the audience “doesn’t think it strange to see plays in Lithuanian, or German,” or in other languages other than Catalan, explained Sunyer.
For example, visitors can enjoy ‘Moving with Pina,’ created and interpreted by Italian dancer Cristiana Morganti about the German contemporary dance figure Pina Bausch, or the Catalan interpretation of ‘The Omission of the Coleman Family’ by Argentine playwright Claudio Tolcachir.
…to the Catalan
That’s not to say there isn’t a focus on plays from Catalonia, too, for which Temporada Alta aims to open doors for, facilitate collaboration with outside companies and help show internationally.
One of the more unique performances to be enjoyed of this kind is from the Pep Bou theater company: ‘Bloop!’ Opening on November 10, it’s a poetic and whimsical exploration with none other than giant bubbles.
Diversity in perspective and themes to be tackled
Diversity in perspective is at the center of this Temporada Alta, which aims to project "100 different views on social and personal themes." Among those to be tackled is freedom of expression, feminism, limits of the press and union protests in the more social side of the spectrum—all issues that have come up in the last year in Catalonia.
Additionally, the festival includes creations which speak of personal issues like death (in the piece 'Requiem for L'), or even the relationship between humans and robots (tackled in a piece called 'Uncanny Valley').
Temporada Alta is set to include 98 shows, 58 of which are written by Catalans, while around twenty are international from 12 different countries.