The 2009 Season of the Opera Association Buenos Aires Lirica starts on March 27th with La Traviata, and continues throughout the year with great titles and outstanding productions:

MARCH 27, 29, 31
APRIL 2, 4
GIUSEPPE VERDI: LA TRAVIATA
Cast: Ivanna Speranza, Arnaldo Quiroga, Omar Carrión.
Buenos Aires Lírica Chorus and Orchestra
Musical direction: Carlos Vieu
Regie: Pablo Maritano
A different approach to the all time classical favorite.

MAY 8, 10, 12, 14, 16
IGOR STRAVINSKY: THE RAKE'S PROGRESS (El progreso del libertino)
Cast: Gustavo Gibert, Jeffrey Lentz, Ana Laura Menéndez, Evelyn Ramírez, Christian Peregrino.
Buenos Aires Lírica Chorus
Camerata Bariloche
Musical Direction: Alejo Pérez
Regie: Marcelo Lombardero
Inspired by a famous series of engravings by Hogarth, Stravinsky, one of the most brilliant musical genius of the XXth century, composed this opera in a neoclassical language, paying homage to figures like Pergolesi, Händel, Scarlatti, and over all Mozart.

JULY 17, 19, 21, 23, 25
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI: IL RITORNO D'ULISSE IN PATRIA
Cast: Víctor Torres, Evelyn Ramírez, Franco Fagioli, María Cristina Kiehr.
Ensamble I febiarmonici
Musical direction: Juan Manuel Quintana
Buenos Aires Lírica offers the South American debut of this Monteverde's title, great example of the XVIIth century Venetian opera.

SEPTEMBER 11, 13, 15, 17, 19
GIAN CARLO MENOTTI: THE CONSUL (El cónsul)
Cast: Carla Filipcic Holm, Hernán Iturralde, Elisabeth Canis, Virginia Correa Dupuy, Leonardo Estévez, Osvaldo Peroni.
Musical direction: Javier Logioia Orbe
Regie: Fabian von Matt

NOVEMBER 13, 15, 17, 19
VINCENZO BELLINI: I PURITANI
Cast: Laura Rizzo, Carlos Ullán, Omar Carrión, Christian Peregrino y elenco
Buenos Aires Lírica Chorus and Orchestra
Musical direction: Guillermo Brizzio
regie: Marcelo Perusso
Buenos Aires Lírica ends the 2009 season with its first Bellini.

All performances at Teatro Avenida, Av. de Mayo 1222

Two events featuring free open air tango and music shows will take place this Sunday, May 31, 2009 in Buenos Aires.

At 2.00 pm a charity event to support two NGOs will be held at Plaza de Mayo (Bolívar and Av. de Mayo), with a "milonga" around the May Pyramid until 5.00 pm, and then the musical show “El tango viste a la Moda”, with 140 artists on stage.
Entrance is free of charge, but donations of school materials are welcomed (pencils, copybooks, folders, etc).

At 3.00 pm, a show celebrating the 203rd anniversary of the neighborhood of San Telmo will take place at the amphitheater of Parque Lezama (Brasil between Defensa and Balcarce), featuring music, dance and tango.

The Festival "Viñetas Sueltas", the first of its kind in the South American and European comic world, will take place for the second year in Buenos Aires. Throughout the festival, authors, editors and the general public will share a space to exchange experiences from all the latitudes about the "ninth art".
"Viñetas Sueltas" will open on Monday, May 25, 2009, with a street intervention, when 16 authors will draw 16 billboards in downtown Buenos Aires (microcenter), in the open view of people passing by.
The festival will feature exhibitions by national and international authors, coming from France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Brazil, Colombia. There will also be workshops for professionals and the general public, talks and artistic activities for adults and children.
Guest artists are: Carlos Trillo, Etienne Davodeau, Xavier Lowenthal, Leif Tande, Andrea Bruno, Paolo Parisi, Ibn al rabin, Alex Baladi, Mauro Entrialgo, Fabio Zimbres, Alvaro Velez, Frank Arbelo, Rodolfo Santullo, Matias Bergara, Gabriel Ciccariello, Max Aguirre, Liliana Cupido, Edo Chieregato, Thomas Luis Cote, among others.
"Viñetas Sueltas" is organized by the Embassy of Canada, CCEBA- AECID, the Embassy of France and the Alliance Francaise, the Embassy of Switzerland, the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Malba, and Centro Cultural Recoleta, with the support of the Embassy of Belgium, and Wallonie Bruxelles International, the city of Geneva, and SEACEX, Spain.

Dates: May 25th to May 31st, 2009
Locations:
Alianza Francesa: Av. Cordoba 946
Centro Cultural Recoleta: Junin 1930
Malba: Av. Figueroa Alcorta 3415

On Sunday, May 24, 2009, 8.00 PM, city residents and visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a great show at the Obelisk that will mark the start of the celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the May Revolution, an important step in history that lead to the Argentine independence.
With drums and a musical explosion, La Bomba de Tiempo will open the event.
Renowned artists will present new versions of the National songs: Kevin Johansen will sing with Pablo Lescano the Hymn to Sarmiento; Juan Carlos Baglietto with No lo Soporto will sing Mi Bandera (My Flag). EMME with Mike Amigorena will present the Hymn to San Martín; Hilda Lizarazu with Diego Frenkel will sing together Saludo a la Bandera (Salute to the Flag), and Alejandro Lerner along with Los Tipitos and Andrea Álvarez will interpret La Marcha de San Lorenzo. Patricia Sosa and Palo Pandolfo will present a new version of Aurora.
Within the recital, the theme and video of the Bicentenary will be presented.
Bajofondo and Gustavo Santaolalla will close the show presenting their latest production, Mar Dulce.

The national songs that will be presented at the festival can be downloaded from the Bicentenary website.