The Festival Internacional de Santander (FIS) is one of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

's oldest music festivals. Each year, during the month of August it presents two to three

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s as well as performances from visiting

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

companies, solo

recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...

s, and choral, symphonic, and chamber music concerts. Its largest and main performing space is the Palacio de Festivales on the Calle Gamazo in

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

. However, performances are also held in fifty churches, cloisters, and parks both in Santander and in smaller towns in the

Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...

region. From 1952 to 1990 the festival's main performance space was a gigantic tent in Santander's Plaza Porticada. The final performance there was a concert by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Mstislav Rostropovich on August 30, 1990. Upon its completion in 1991, the Palacio de Festivales, became the festival's new home. It was inaugurated with a performance by the

King's Consort The King's Consort is a British period music orchestra founded in 1980 by the English conductor and harpsichordist Robert King (b. 1960, Wombourne). The ensemble has an associated choral group, Choir of The King's Consort. Together, they have ma ...

of Handel's oratorio, ''

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

''. The building was designed by

Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza (12 October 1918 – 18 July 2000) was a Spanish architect and influential practitioner of the modernist movement in Spain. Biography Born in Cáseda, Navarre, Francisco Javier Sáenz de Oiza went to school in Se ...

. Its main auditorium, the Sala Argenta, is noted for its transparent and natural-sounding acoustics and has a seating capacity of 1670. Unusually, the backdrop of its stage is a large window looking out onto the

Bay of Santander The Bay of Santander is both a ''comarca'' of Cantabria and the largest estuary on the North coast of Spain, with an extension of 22.42 km (9 km long and 5 km wide). Due to the influence of Santander, Cantabria, Santander and its ...

. The auditorium is named in honour of the Spanish conductor

Ataúlfo Argenta Ataúlfo Exuperio Martín de Argenta Maza (19 November 1913 – 20 January 1958) was a Spanish conductor and pianist. Biography Argenta was born in Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, one of the two children, and the only son, of the local stati ...

, who played a major role in the establishment of the festival. The festival had its beginnings in 1948 as a programme providing cultural entertainment to the foreign students at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo. By 1952 it had become a fully fledged international music festival with José Manuel Riancho as its first Director. José Luis Ocejo, a noted conductor and founder of the Coral Salvé de Laredo, has been its Director since 1979. Many of the festival's performances are broadcast live on Spanish National Radio (

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

). The RTVE-Música label has issued eight of these performances on CD, including the 2003 production of ''

Simon Boccanegra ''Simon Boccanegra'' () is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play ''Simón Bocanegra'' (1843) by Antonio García Gutiérrez, whose play ''El trovador'' had b ...

'' and the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

's 2004 concert of works by

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germa ...

and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

.El sello RTVE-Música edita el CD "Festival Internacional de Santander. Volumen 8"
RTVE, February 1, 2006 Amongst the many distinguished conductors, musicians and singers who have appeared at the Festival Internacional de Santander over the years are:

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

Sir Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...

, Arthur Rubinstein,

Alicia de Larrocha Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle (23 May 192325 September 2009) was a Spanish pianist and composer. She was considered one of the great piano legends of the 20th century. Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", ''Time'' "o ...

, Daniel Barenboim,

Diletta Rizzo Marin Diletta Rizzo Marin (born in Vicenza) is an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano admired for the quality of her voice and her skills in acting. She has appeared frequently at the Festival Internacional de Santander. Biography Diletta Rizzo Marin was ...

Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé i Folch or Folc (full name: María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (, , ; (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé, was a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide v ...

Teresa Berganza Teresa Berganza Vargas OAXS (16 March 1933 – 13 May 2022) was a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with roles such as Rossini's Rosina and La Cenerentola, and later Bizet's Carmen, admired for her technical virtuosity, mu ...

Samuel Ramey Samuel Edward Ramey (born March 28, 1942) is an American operatic bass. At the height of his career, he was greatly admired for his range and versatility, having possessed a sufficiently accomplished bel canto technique to enable him to sing th ...

Juan Diego Flórez Juan Diego Flórez (born Juan Diego Flórez Salom, January 13, 1973) is a Peruvian operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in bel canto operas. On June 4, 2007, he received his country's highest decoration, the ''Knight Grand Cross in t ...

Mirella Freni Mirella Freni, OMRI (, born Mirella Fregni, 27 February 1935 – 9 February 2020) was an Italian operatic soprano who had a career of 50 years and appeared at major international opera houses. She received international attention at the Gl ...

, José Carreras, and

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

, who made his

Kirov Opera The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

debut in the title role of '' Otello'' when the company performed at the festival in 1992.

References

*Dennis Gray Stoll, ''Music Festivals of the World: A Guide to Leading Festivals of Music'', Macmillan, 1963. *Jesús Delgado
40 años de la plaza Porticada de Santander recogidos en un libro
'' El País'', August 1991. *Enrique Franco (editor), ''Plaza Porticada: festival de Santander 1952-1990'', Circero Editores, 1991.

External links

Official web site of the Festival Internacional de Santander
{{Coord missing, Spain Music festivals established in 1948 Classical music festivals in Spain Opera festivals Summer festivals Music festivals in Spain Dance festivals in Spain Tourist attractions in Cantabria Santander, Spain Recurring events established in 1948

See also

References

External links