They are firm defenders of culture in all its forms, from acting to literature and painting, including music… It is precisely this last art that has taken King Felipe and Letizia this Friday afternoon to the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao, where they preside over a historic moment: the performance of the opera Il Trittico. It is a production by ABAO Bilbao Opera signed with stage direction by Paco AzorÃn that commemorates the centenary of the death of Giacomo Puccini, one of the great Italian composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
© GTRESThe Navarra Symphony Orchestra (OSN), directed by Pedro Halffter, is in charge of this show that has only four dates in Bilbao (November 23, 26 and 29 and December 2). It is very relevant that Euskalduna has included this performance in its agenda, since the technical, economic and artistic complexity of its staging means that it is not common to see this show in theater programming. It is, therefore, a unique occasion to commemorate one of the classical masters, who died on November 29, 1924 at the age of 65 due to a heart attack after undergoing treatment for the cancer he suffered.
This event culminates the Kings’ agenda this week in which the portraits made by Annie Leibovitz for the collection of the Bank of Spain have caused great excitement. These impressive photographs printed on canvas already hang on its walls, showing Don Felipe and Doña Letizia as we have never seen them. The images, presented as a diptych, were taken on February 7, 2024 in the Gasparini room of the Royal Palace, a room that dazzled the prestigious portraitist, winner of a Prince of Asturias award and internationally popular for having captured Isabel with her lens. II, Richard Nixon leaving the White House for the last time, Mick Jagger in a bathrobe and John Lennon hugging Yoko Ono.
Shocking and applauded in equal measure is Queen Letizia’s styling: a long black dress with a strapless neckline with drapes and hem enhanced with tulle by Cristóbal Balenciaga. This is a piece from the 1940s donated by the Antoni de Montpalau Foundation. Falling over his arms is a spectacular fuchsia cape that was seen in a previous exhibition about Guetaria’s master at the Thyssen Museum and that belongs to the 60s. It also appears with magnificent jewels such as the necklace and the chaton earrings from the passing lot which he has worn at many public events.
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