Peruvian Superstar Tania Libertad to Perform Afro-Peruvian Infused World Music at the Kimmel Center October 27
October 12, 2007
"A remarkably clear, powerful, and passionate voice." —The Guardian, London
Transcending boundaries, Peruvian singer Tania Libertad brings an expansive performance of Afro-Peruvian infused world music to the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater on Saturday, October 27 at 7:30pm as part of the World & Pop series. Her music, a blend of Brazilian rhythms, combined with romantic boleros, salsa and nueva cancion (protest songs), is multi-faceted and deeply imbued with her soulful vocals. Libertad’s velvety, angelic musings and searing intensity on stage has helped popularize her homeland’s Afro-Peruvian rooted music. With over 30 released CDs to her name, her work has been hailed throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa. Her performance will explore the spirited Afro-Peruvian songs of her youth, while also maintaining the infectious rancheros of her current home in Mexico.
"For many years," Libertad explains, "the music was performed mostly out of sight, behind closed doors in close-knit Afro-Peruvian communities. Peruvian high society considered the music profane. But then, about 70 years ago, the rhythms began to emerge, style by style, and eventually grew into the popular form it is today. Now it is widely embraced as a music that’s emblematic of the best of Peruvian culture."
This concert is the fourth in the World & Pop Series scheduled for the 2007/2008 season. The next concert in the series will be Max Raabe & Palast Orchesteron Saturday, November 3, 2007 at 7:30pm.
Tickets for Tania Libertad are $34 and $44 can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Nobel Prize-winning Portuguese author José Saramago has said of Tania Libertad: "The first time I heard Tania Libertad sing, it was a revelation from on high-from a place where only a naked voice might go, alone in the world, unaccompanied by any instrument. Tania was singing the Rafael Alberti composition, 'La Paloma' acapella, and each note touched a string in my soul until I was completely dazed."
Born in Peru, Tania Libertad has resided in Mexico for more than 20 years. Her extraordinary career has taken her to all the great concert stages in the world. Early in her career, Libertad recorded Lo Inolvidable de Chabuca Granda, a tribute to one of the great masters of the Afro-Peruvian style. In 1990, she revisited the idiom, but with a twist on Africa en America—an exuberant survey of African-influenced music throughout the hemisphere. Her amazingly diverse discography of almost three dozen albums includes forays into the stylistic realms of salsa, nueva cancion, Brazilian music, her trademark boleros and other genres, though the Afro-Peruvian tradition is one she has a long and ongoing relationship with. Her more recent recordings, Costa Negra and Negro Color, have established her as one of the most important singers in World Music. In recognition, she has been named Honorary Unesco Peace Ambassador. She has also received the title of "Comendadora" by the government of Peru and the Order of Rio Branco by the Brazilian government.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Deloitte. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS
Saturday, October 27, 2007 | 7:30pm
Perelman Theater
World & Pop Series
Tania Libertad
Sonia Cornuchet, Musical Director/Piano and Chorus
Gabriela Garcia, Keyboard and Chorus
Felix Casaverde, Guitar and Chorus
Juanchi Vasquez, Percussion and Chorus
Alberto Martinez, Sound Engineer
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