Jonas Kaufmann, Plácido Domingo and Ermonela Jaho, first names for Peralada

On the evening of 28 July, acclaimed tenor Jonas Kaufmann will be making his third appearance at the festival after the resounding successes of his performances in 2012 and 2014. With a lyric concert format, the Bavarian tenor, accompanied by the Orquestra Titular del Teatro Real, conducted by Jochen Rieder, will offer an evening of wonderful lyric and opera repertoire in the Castle Park Auditorium. A concert designed to enchant the audience with his numerous registers and his extensive voice, rich in musicality and great vocal technique, in perfect harmony with his gift for performing.

The following day, 29 July, the opera Thaïs by Jules Massenet – in concert version – will make its first appearance at the Empordà festival. Great performer Plácido Domingo and soprano Ermonela Jaho will be starring in one of the most beautiful operas by the French composer at a time when it is becoming a true rediscovery in opera houses everywhere.  Accompanied by the resident line-ups at the Teatro Real under the experienced baton of conductor Patrick Fournillier, an expert in the work and world of Massenet, and the voices of Michele Angelini, Jean Teitgen, Lídia Vinyes Curtis and Elena Copons and the Cor Titular del Teatro Real, Thaïs appears at Peralada with a star-studded vocal and musical cast. The opera, inspired by the novel Thais by Anatole France, tells the story of two antagonistic characters and their personal journeys in opposing directions; a courtesan who redeems herself before God and a monk who will renounce his faith to give himself up to love and worldly desire for the enchanting Egyptian courtesan. Eroticism and mysticism go hand in hand in an extraordinary score.