Musicals, independent cinema, theatre, concerts, opera and jazz are shows that can only be found in big capitals. Probably Madrid is one of the few cities in the world where you can choose every night whether to listen to a tenor, watch a ballet dancer or attend to the premiere of a Thai film.
Theatre
Premiere night at any of the theatres in Madrid. Butterflies inside actor’s bellies. And in the one of the novel writer, the producer in love with the job, and the director who’s finally performing in the capital. Drama professionals trained in the RESAD, the Royal Drama School, the oldest in Spain and one of the most prestigious in Europe, located in Madrid; new actors coming from university theatre, heir of Federico García Lorca; or acclaimed artists trained in the many drama schools spread through Madrid.
Cinema: with and without popcorn
Madrid, city of cinema. Of Almodóvar’s films, of Amenábar’s and his lonely Gran Vía, of Saura’s, Buñuel’s, Trueba’s and the Bardems’. Gran Vía, Fuencarral, Luchana, around Glorieta de Bilbao, Cuatro Caminos and Plaza de los Cubos are the cinamatographic areas of Madrid par excellence.
Cinema from Spain or from overseas, undubbed or dubbed, commercial films or independent ones. Cinema, cinema, more cinema, life is cinema. And for the nostalgic ones, professionals and cinema buffs, the Filmoteca Nacional, the Cine Doré, the celebrities in Gran Via’s premieres, or any of the filmings taking place in the city.
Musicals: successful acts
Madrid has become the third city in the world by musicals released, something that tells us that this city loves these shows of masses that make Victor Hugo’s stories, Lloyd Weber’s music and Disney’s characters universal. Acclaimed artists show their ability on stage playing Mary Magdalene, Elisa Doolittle or Jean Valjean, international plays that have been successful in the whole world, or national shows bringing back 80′s music. All of this on Gran Via’s stages. It’s the Madrilenian Broadway.
Big shows: everything has come to Madrid
It’s been a long time since 1965, when the Beatles came for their first and only concert in Madrid. A mythical day on everyone’s minds. The most famous band in the world was visiting an unusual city for rock bands in the 60′s. But nothing is the way it used to be anymore. There’s no musician, no matter the kind of music they play, who doesn’t come for a concert in Madrid.
The best lyrical singers, the most prestigious conductors, the most brilliant rock stars, the most acclaimed dancers, or even some of the most successful actors… Every of them wants to stop by in Madrid! A city where the people always gives their best, but without losing their critical sense. Madrid’s audience is discerning, but passionate. Get your ticket and enjoy: the show is also in front of the stage.
Opera: high C
Donizetti’s The favourite was the first opera performed at Madrid’s Royal Theatre in 1850. Thirteen years later, it was Giuseppe Verdi himself who decided to control every single detail of the premiere of his Forza del destino at the Madrilenian venue. The Royal Theatre has been, is, and will be one of the top theatres in order to study the history of music. Since it was completely reformed in 1997, the Royal Theatre has become one of the most avant-garde venues, with world premieres, such as Halffter’s Quixote, and controversial sceneries and versions. But this is opera, a clash between purist and modern ones. And the Royal Theatre is stuck, luckily, in the middle of the confrontation.
Madrid is also the main venue of the traditional genre called Zarzuela. Popular and typical plots make this king of musical theatre, whose main characteristic is that it gets along with the common people. Check out the guides: you will enjoy attending to any of these shows, and, in summer, if you can do it inside a corrala in Lavapiés, it will be even better!
Smaller shows: do you want me to play anything else?
Some people say that the best way to enjoy a show is while leaning on a bar or at a table with friends and a drink in your hand. For those, a jazz concert is much more suggestive in a small pub, sitting just a few of metres away from the band. Look for your favourite genre, in Madrid you will surely find that small pub where you’ll be able to watch and listen great musicians just a couple of metres away from them. Maybe you’ll find unknown great musicians who will be soon discovered by important record companies, and you’ll be able to say then: “I remember I saw this guy when nobody knew him”.
But apart from pop, rock, singer-songwriters or jazz, remember that you can also have a laugh with the funniest comedians, get shocked by the most incredible magic tricks or have a candlelit dinner while a new soprano or tenor sings the most beautiful arias in history for you.
Dance: movement
From classical dance to avant-garde ballet. They may seem contradictory languages, but they actually use the same vocabulary. But upside down if needed. Looking for minimalist musics or exaggerated expressions. There’s a place for everything on Madrid’s stages. From Alicia Alonso’s and Maya Plisetskaya’s (who directed the Spanish National Lyrical Ballet) Swan Lake, to the plastic concept of Pina Bausch and the Spaniard Blanca Li.
Dance nowadays cannot be understood without the names of Nacho Duato, Tamara Rojo, María Giménez, Ángel Corella, Igor Yebra… World-class dancers from Spain, whose shows can be watched in Madrid all year long.
Contrasts: elite culture or masses culture?
Here you are the eternal question: what’s culture? It’s not easy to agree, as there are all kinds of opinions. Some erudites tend to be elitist sometimes, as they only consider as culture the most sublime aspects of art. This avoids that common people could be interested in something they don’t understand.
But in Madrid you will find anything you need to get deeper inside any cultural concept, from the most commercial one, the one that packs stadiums and is shared by thousands of people, to the one for which you need some previous training to get to understand it and fully enjoy it.
