Víctor Pablo Pérez Leads Tenerife Symphony in 'Adiós a la bohemia'

Víctor Pablo Pérez, born in Burgos in 1954, will lead the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra next week, on Friday and Saturday, December 5 and 6, at 7:30 PM. They will perform Adiós a la bohemia (Farewell to Bohemia), a short opera by Pablo Sorozábal (1897-1988), with words by writer Pío Baroja (1872-1956). This performance, which can also be seen as a zarzuela, marks Ópera de Tenerife's final show of the year at the capital's auditorium.

Pérez, who was the orchestra's main conductor from 1986 to 2005 and is now its honorary conductor, will discuss the unique qualities of this score, which changed how sung theater was composed in Spain. The interview also covers his thoughts on new musicians and audiences, and what needs to be done to keep both thriving.

You're conducting the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra in ‘Adiós a la bohemia’, a short opera by Pablo Sorozábal with words by Pío Baroja. What stands out most to you about the music?

“Sorozábal called it a short opera because it fits into the género chico (short genre) of zarzuela. This style was made for everyday audiences: shorter, more affordable shows with cheaper tickets. He started writing it in 1931 and it premiered in 1933. He aimed to create something new, and it truly became a landmark in Spanish lyric theater because of its fresh compositional style. Having studied in Germany, Sorozábal brought a lot of Central European influences to Adiós a la bohemia. It’s not just a series of separate songs, duets, and choruses anymore; the story flows more continuously, using recurring musical themes, a bit like Wagner’s leitmotifs. Still, it features two important and beautiful romanzas – one for soprano and one for baritone – along with duets and choral parts. It was an experiment that resulted in a masterpiece, breathing new life into how zarzuelas were composed.”

“Sorozábal is the composer who has given us the best romanzas and duets in the entire history of zarzuela.”

Sorozábal based ‘Adiós a la bohemia’ on a short play by Baroja. Now, the production includes a theatrical prologue that features a dialogue between the two. Perhaps it’s a way to complete the story, but also to highlight the complete theatrical experience that opera and zarzuela offer.

“Yes. This work is quite short, so it was usually performed with another piece. When Sorozábal was a 15-year-old violinist at the Teatro Principal in San Sebastián, he saw Baroja’s comedy Adiós a la bohemia and was deeply moved. Later, while studying in Germany, he contacted Baroja to discuss creating a libretto for a zarzuela, a short opera. For this production, the show begins with a prologue that’s a dialogue about how Adiós a la bohemia came to be. It’s a conversation between a young Sorozábal and Pío Baroja, discussing their creative process. During this, they hold auditions where you hear a soprano romanza, a baritone romanza, a bass romanza, a tenor romanza… This theatrical prologue, with its musical interludes, then connects to the main work through a lovely song called ‘Maite’. It’s almost a folk tune now, but Sorozábal wrote it for a film (Jai Alai, 1940). That will be the orchestra’s first piece, joined by the choir, and from there, we move into Adiós a la bohemia itself.”

If you had to encourage a young audience to come to the Auditorio de Tenerife to see this show, or any opera or zarzuela, what would you tell them?

“The programming at the Auditorio de Tenerife is fresh, bold, and outstanding. It’s incredibly high quality and has a strong identity, which isn’t true for all opera seasons in Spain. Some theaters just keep performing the same big, well-known titles, which guarantees an audience, usually an older one. But the approach at the Auditorio de Tenerife is very interesting and forward-thinking. They’re building new audiences, and their shows are still selling out. For example, Yerma by Heitor Villa-Lobos, an opera that isn’t popular or part of the standard repertoire, sold out all four performances. The three performances of The Flying Dutchman, which isn’t Wagner’s most famous opera, also sold out. This programming strategy makes Tenerife stand out nationally. They do include major titles that usually guarantee success, but they mix them with more contemporary and new works. I believe they’re getting it right because they also prioritize quality. Each production takes a month and a half or two months to prepare… It’s a lot of hard work, and the theatrical staging is always excellent. For instance, Paco Azorín’s work on Yerma was extraordinary. So, we’re in a very exciting time, creating the audience of the future and introducing them to new works and new ways of experiencing sung theater.”

“The Auditorio de Tenerife chooses novelty, risk, and quality over programming that amounts to the usual suspects.”

And ‘Adiós a la bohemia’ would be a perfect example of this programming style at a theater or auditorium.

“Yes, it’s a great introduction to zarzuela. After this short opera, in June, the Auditorium will stage La verbena de la Paloma (Tomás Bretón, 1894), perhaps the quintessential zarzuela, which I will also conduct. With Adiós a la bohemia, we’re featuring the composer of Katiuska (1931), La del manojo de rosas (1934), La tabernera del puerto (1936)… Sorozábal is arguably the composer who has given us the best romanzas and duets in the history of zarzuela.”

How are Spanish composers treated today, both by the public and by those who plan programs? Are they underrepresented, or do they get enough exposure?

“More and more theaters are willing to program Spanish composers. In this regard, the Auditorio de Tenerife has been a pioneer, for example, with María Moliner (Antoni Parera Fons, 2016), making a full commitment. Within our country’s capabilities, which are growing daily in terms of orchestras, theaters, and festivals, contemporary Spanish authors are being given greater prominence. Staging a zarzuela or an opera is very expensive, so you need to be well-prepared before taking it on, but great efforts are certainly being made. In fact, we’re now starting work on a zarzuela based on Valle-Inclán’s Luces de bohemia, which will be staged in Spain in two or three years, but I can’t reveal more details about it yet.”

After conducting the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra from 1986 to 2005, you are now its honorary conductor. How do you feel about these reunions each time you return to the podium?

“It’s always a great pleasure. In August, we had a very important trip: we returned to the Santander International Festival after 26 years. We also performed at the Pollença Festival in Mallorca, which isn’t huge but is one of Spain’s oldest, celebrating its 64th edition. The orchestra is starting to travel off the island again, and it’s a joy to work with them during this period of renewal. Some of the musicians who started with me 40 years ago are nearing retirement, and the Symphony is bringing in new talent, slowly but surely. Right now, about 40% of its musicians are new, so it’s a time to inspire these performers, as they are part of an orchestra that is a national benchmark.”

“One of my great priorities today is to continue deepening the training of young musicians; it is vital.”

Since its founding in 2016, you’ve been the artistic director of the Canary Islands Youth Orchestra, a training ground for hundreds of emerging instrumentalists. How has it evolved, and where is the project today?

“We’re about to celebrate 10 years. Many young people have come through it, and they are now training or already playing in orchestras in the Canary Islands, across Spain, and even internationally. It’s a vital initiative. When we started the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra project 40 years ago, very few people understood why we hired so many foreign musicians, both here and elsewhere in Spain. The same thing happened to me with the Galicia Symphony Orchestra. Back then, I never tired, and I still don’t tire, of explaining it. In those years, a terrible cycle had formed in Spain: there were no orchestras because there weren’t enough trained musicians, and there were no musicians because there were no orchestras. That cycle had to be broken. And it was broken by bringing in performers from all over the world: British, American, Eastern Europeans came… But they didn’t just come to play; they also came to teach. That’s when regional youth ensembles began to appear, and the National Youth Orchestra of Spain was founded, which played a crucial role in this whole process. Today, unlike then, when we had to look abroad for musicians, we have a huge number of Spanish instrumentalists, with exceptional training. We can see this with one fact: the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, a leading European ensemble, has had up to 39 Spanish musicians in a single concert. That’s almost 50% of 80 performers. This shows an absolute, complete transformation, and those initial goals have been met.”

This change has involved training, but also a new way of thinking about musical professionalization.

“The project was about training young Spaniards and doing so in a way that enabled them to work effectively in orchestras. In those years we’re talking about, there were only three or four professional orchestras in Spain – meaning musicians who could make a living solely from playing in them, without needing other jobs. Today there are more than 30. Furthermore, as I mentioned, we are in a period of orchestra renewal, due to the retirements of many of the musicians who started these orchestras 40, 35, or 30 years ago. It’s similar to what happened in the United States after World War II, when great Central European musicians, some who settled there after being persecuted by Nazism and others directly brought over, began to train young people in American universities. In short, the work done has produced clear results, proving wrong the criticisms from that time.”

On a professional and artistic level, what challenges does Víctor Pablo Pérez face in the short and medium term?

“After more than 40 years as principal conductor of orchestras – those of Asturias, Tenerife, Galicia, and the Community of Madrid – the time has come to work, and work intensely, as a guest or honorary conductor. On one hand, the challenges involve closely supporting the Canary Islands Youth Orchestra and other young ensembles when opportunities arise. In 2022, we managed to bring together Jocan with the Basque Youth Orchestra (Euskal Herriko Gazte Orkestra) to perform nothing less than Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 in D minor at Spain’s oldest festival, the San Sebastián Musical Fortnight. That work is very important to me for continuing to deepen the training of our young people. On the other hand, I continue to conduct. In January, I have to go to Italy again… I will not only conduct La verbena de la Paloma here, but I will also conduct it beforehand at the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo… Adiós a la bohemia is being performed for the third time, and I have also done María Moliner three or four times… Let’s say I continue to work a lot, but without being a principal conductor.”