Mezzo-soprano Maria Soler, guitarist Rafael Serrallet and clarinettist Luis Fernández come together to perform in a recital at the church of Sant Marti de la Cortinada, a unique setting where classical music merges with Andorran heritage. The programme includes operatic arias written for male characters but performed with a female voice, offering a new emotional perspective. Maria Soler's performance promises a passionate journey, while Rafael Serrallet's guitar will create a captivating musical dialogue. A unique opportunity to enjoy Andorran talent in an iconic space in Ordino.
Interpreters
Maria Soler
Born on 17th October 2000 in Andorra, started playing the piano at the age of 7 at the Escola Harmonia with Roser Palomero and started singing at the age of 10 with Caterine Metayer at the Petits Cantors d'Andorra. She was selected for the A Nau Voix festival in La Baule (France) in 2015 and 2016 in the Young Talents category and also participated, in the choir, in the Andorra Lírica operas from 2016 to 2017.
In 2018 she began studying a degree in Geophysics at the University of Paris and was admitted to the Conservatoire de Saint-Maur, where she was trained by Pierre Kuzor and Thomas Palmer. To date, she has participated in projects such as Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, in the role of Dido, Berio's Folk Songs conducted by Olivier Kaspar and Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie in the roles of Diane and Phèdre.
In March 2024, she performed the main role of Orfeo in the opera Orfeo ed Euridice by Gluck at the Théâtre de la Liberté in Saint-Maur les Fossés. She won the ‘Orgues i Ponent’ award at the Balaguer International Singing Contest, presided over by Marta Mateu, Mireia Pintó, Pedro Pardo and Albert Castells, casting coordinator of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.
In 2021 she sang with the tenor Josep Carreras in a charity concert for the Josep Carreras Association at the Palau de Congressos in Andorra la Vella, as well as at the Josep Carreras Auditorium in Vila-seca (Tarragona) in 2022 and the centenary concert in S'Agaró on 20th July 2024. She performed at the America's Cup closing ceremony, held at Passeig de Gràcia in Barcelona, together with Josep Carreras and Sara Baras.
She has participated in concerts with the Orquestra Nacional Clàssica d'Andorra (ONCA), including the Concert de la Constitució Andorrana 2023 at the Palau de Congressos and the Concert per la Pau in September 2023. She is currently studying under Chantal Mathias at the Paris Conservatory, while also honing her skills with Karine Deshayes and Delphine Haidan.
She will soon be performing in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, a production staged by Mariame Clément, as well as playing the role of Siebel in Gounod's Faust.
Rafael Serrallet - The magic of the Spanish guitar
Defining Rafael Serrallet in just one word is impossible, but if one comes close, that word is 'passion'. Passion for music, for beauty, for the guitar, for conveying emotions, for connecting with the audience. Whether in the intimacy of a small venue or on a large open-air stage with thousands of people, Serrallet is passionate and capable of captivating audiences in a deeply moving way.
With almost 30 years of experience and countless concerts in over 80 countries, both on his own and accompanied by an orchestra, Serrallet is probably Spain's most internationally acclaimed concert performer today, with a ‘talent that is absolutely out of the ordinary.' Through his own merits, he has become an ambassador for Spanish music around the world, and in 2018 he became the first musician to have given concerts in each of the continents (including Antarctica), earning him a Guinness World Record.
Rafael Serrallet is a charismatic performer who has the ability to become one with his guitar during his performances and captivate and thrill the audience without any unnecessary fireworks. His music is 'surprisingly delicate, full of extraordinary charm, tenderness and beautiful, perfect softness' (Day. Kiev). His on-stage personality and natural connection with audiences make Serrallet an exceptional and captivating performer.
He is an inspiring and motivating teacher, leading pioneering musical cooperation and development projects in conservatories all over the world. Rafael Serrallet firmly believes in the power of music and considers it an excellent tool for social integration. That is why he is involved in all kinds of educational musical projects with young people and children all over the world.
Serrallet is much more than a guitarist, he is an all-round musician with a passion for music that he wants to share with audiences of all kinds. His music touches the limits of the mystical resonance that connects us with other worlds.
Serrallet holds a PhD in Music and a Master's Degree in Music Education. Among other awards, Rafael holds the Medal of the Lazio Region (Italy), the medal of the Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) and recently the King of Spain awarded him the Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.
Luis Fernández, clarinet
'Clarinettist of great technical ability combined with a musical sense of the highest aesthetic quality' SCHERZO.
Winner of Rising Star Berlin, Primer Palau, Vienna International Competition, Juventudes Musicales de España, among other awards, Fernández-Castelló is renowned for 'a sound full of warmth and exquisite sweetness', according to OPERA WORLD.
He has enjoyed an interesting career as a soloist and chamber musician which has taken him to prestigious national festivals (Quincena Musical Donostiarra, Fundación Juan March, Festival ENSEMS, Festival de Música y Danza de Granada, Semana de Música Religiosa de Cuenca, Festival Bernaola, Sociedad Filarmónica de Valencia, Festival de Música y Danza de Úbeda, Festival COMA, Ciclo Musikagileak) and international festivals in France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Luxembourg, Sweden, Estonia, Morocco and Portugal. He has performed in the foremost Spanish venues such as the Auditorio Nacional (Madrid), Palau de la Música Catalana (Barcelona), Auditorio de Zaragoza and Palau de la Música (Valencia).
Recognised for his performances of the classical and romantic repertoire, Fernández-Castelló also has a special interest in the music of his time and has worked extensively with leading composers such as Francisco Coll, José María Sánchez-Verdú and Luca Francesconi, producing more than a hundred new works by Jesús Torres, Miguel Gálvez-Taroncher, Jorge Grossmann, Leonardo Balada, Juan Durán, Sergio Blardony, Antonio Gómez-Schneekloth, etc.
His latest albums The Singing Clarinet (Orpheus Classical), Leonardo Balada's Chamber Music (Naxos) and Concert Valencià. Concertos para clarinete y orquesta de compositores valencianos (Valencian Concerto. Concertos for clarinet and orchestra by Valencian composers) have been warmly received by critics. He has also recorded for RNE, Catalunya Ràdio, Transópera, Deutsche Grammphon, IVC and PrimTON. He has also performed as a soloist with the Collegno Ensemble, Joven Orquesta de la Generalitat Valenciana (Youth Orchestra of the Generalitat Valenciana), Orquestra Filharmònica de la Universitat de València (Philharmonic Orchestra of the University of Valencia) and Orquesta de Cámara de la SFV (Chamber Orchestra of the SFV). His interest in chamber music has led him to share the stage with the Mivos Quartet (USA), Dimitri Vassilakis (Ensemble Intercontemporain) and form a trio with the Apellániz brothers, with whom he premiered the Triple Concierto for clarinet, cello, piano and orchestra by Antonio Gómez Schneekloth with the Orquesta de Valencia and conductor Nacho de Paz.
