Madrid, March 11, 2026.
The 2025-2026 Impacta season at the Auditorio Nacional has reunited some of the most important musicians and singers. Cecilia Bartoli sang Orfeo ed Euridice last November, and now this company brings us Madrid's favorite tenor: Juan Diego Flórez, who returns to this venue after six years. Every year, the Peruvian divo visits the Spanish capital, mainly for a recital. Last season we were fortunate to have him at the Teatro Real twice: with a recital accompanied by his Peruvian orchestra on September 2024, and on July 2025, in three performances of La Traviata, two with Nadine Sierra and one with Sabina Puértolas, a great personal success for the Spanish soprano. After having sung in Australia, the United States, Italy, and three days ago in Zaragoza, he makes a stop in Madrid before continuing on to Seville, Barcelona, Prague, and Graz. Accompanied by his regular pianist, Vincenzo Scalera, they offer a program featuring Mozart, Rossini, zarzuela, French and Italian opera.
Part One
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : «Misero! O sogno… Aura che intorno» K. 431
«Del più sublime soglio», from La clemenza di Tito
«Se all’impero, amici Dei!», from La clemenza di Tito
Gioachino Rossini: Une bagatelle, from Péchés de vieillesse (piano solo)
«Le Sylvain»
«Quell’alme pupille», from La pietra del paragone
François-Adrien Boieldieu : «Viens, gentille dame», from La dame blanche
Second part
Ruperto Chapí :«Flores purísimas», from El milagro de la virgen
Amadeo Vives : «Por el humo se sabe dónde está el fuego», from Doña Francisquita
José Serrano : «Te quiero morena», from El trust de los tenorios
Ernesto Lecuona : Mazurka Glissando (for piano solo)
Jules Massenet : «Pourquoi me réveiller?», from Werther
Charles Gounod : «Quel trouble inconnu me pénètre?… Salut! Demeure chaste et pure», from Faust
Franz Liszt : Consolation No. 3 (piano solo)
Giuseppe Verdi : «La mia letizia infondere… Come poteva un angelo», from I Lombardi
Encores
I te vurria vasà
Te amo Perú / La Flor de la Canela / Fina Estampa
Cucurrucucú Paloma
Donizetti: "Pour mon âme" from La Fille du Régiment.
Donizetti: "Una Furtiva Lagrima" from L'Elisir d'Amore.
Lacalle: Amapola
With all the tickets sold out (though some seats remained unoccupied), the evening promised to be spectacular. And Flórez did not disappoint those who had come to see him, although, as usual, the concert raised the level, culminating in the enrapturing encores. While his voice may be sound now more mature, Flórez continues to astonish the audiences in his recitals, delivering his usual high level with beautiful high notes, masterful coloratura, and an exquisite, elegant, youthful, and at times vigorous voice, even in a such unsuitable venue for vocal performance as the Auditorio. Undoubtedly, after three decades in the show business, his voice remains beautiful.
The first part began with three Mozartian pieces, in which his sensitive and elegant singing shone through in the first two. The first great moment came in the third one, the famous aria "Se all'impero" from La Clemenza di Tito, a true challenge for any singer. Even if that role could have been better suited to a tenor with a larger voice, Flórez rose to the challenge with his mastery of coloratura, his phrasing, and his powerful high notes. In this piece, at the end of the first stanza, perhaps due to spontaneous enthusiasm, or more likely, a lack of familiarity on the piece from the audience, they burst into applause, much to the surprise of the tenor and pianist. Then came his specialty, Rossini, represented in two pieces, the first the song "Le Sylvain", which was characterized by his sensitive singing, and then an aria from La Pietra di Paragone, in which he displayed his brilliant technique, so ideal for the works of this composer, following with the famous aria "Viens, Gentille dame", in which he surprised with a falsetto at the end of the phrase "L'âme doit être émue", and again with his brilliant coloratura, concluding the aria by prolonging the note triumphantly.
Since Flórez began singing zarzuela arias in his recitals, and having recorded an album a couple of years ago, it's fair to say he has a love affair with the genre, captivating his Spanish-speaking audiences with his unique, personal, and passionate style of singing it. The second part began with an exquisite and heartfelt rendition of the beautiful aria "Flores Purísimas," followed by the popular "Por el humo se sabe," which he sang with complete devotion, and "Te quiero morena," with which he charmed the audience with his graceful singing, even addressing the people in the choir stalls. Then came the arias from French operas, the beautiful "Pourquoi me réveiller" from Werther, which he sang with great sensitivity, conveying the character's sadness, even softening some words beautifully, to shortly after hitting two impressive high notes in one of the best moments of the evening. Then came the aria from Gounod's Faust, which she sang with as much exquisiteness as the previous one. The program closed with the aria "La mia letizia infondere" from Verdi's I Lombardi, followed by the cabaletta "Come poteva un angelo," in which she shone with vigorous and committed singing.
As always with Flórez's recitals, it's seems to be a tradition not only to give several encores, but also that half of them consist of Latin American songs, accompanying himself on guitar. When he appeared carrying this instrument, he received a thunderous ovation. After greeting the audience, who cheered for Flórez and Peru, he began with a Neapolitan song, "I te vurria vasà." Then, when he launched into "Te amo Perú," the opening words of the song "Bello Durmiente," which he repeated twice, and then audience erupted in a passionate applause. Thus began his famous Chabuca Granda medley, comprised of this song, as well as "La Flor de la Canela," and "Fina Estampa," at the end of which the audience deeply moved. Among them, there were several Peruvians. He followed with another of his classics, the Mexican "Cucurrucucú Paloma", including the prolonged falsetto that amuses the audience, and which on this occasion was applauded twice while prolonging this note.
After the three Latino encores, Flórez and Scalera returned, firstly with a much-anticipated encore, which I had at last the privilege to see him singing it live, hoping it wouldn't be the last: the famous aria "Pour mon âme" from Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment, the one with the famous nine high Cs, of which Flórez is a legendary performer. Flórez demonstrated his passion for this piece, which he sang with ease and vigor, in a dazzling display of his vocal pyrotechnics, even singing to the audience in the back, and on the final high note, looking to both sides, which amused the audience, who rewarded Flórez with a thunderous ovation. Then came another classic, "Una Furtiva Lagrima," perhaps the best moment of the night, as his singing was at its peak, radiantly beautiful, once again vigorous and committed. The last encore was another popular classic; Lacalle's Amapola, with which he once again seduced the public.
Beside him was the excellent pianist Scalera, who made the piano more than just an accompaniment, giving it its own intense brilliance, as in Mozart's final aria and Werther's aria. He had three solo moments, in which he shone, making the pieces by Lecuona and Liszt particularly overflow with an intimate beauty.
And so, a concert initially planned to last one hour and forty-five minutes stretched to two and a half hours, thanks to the exhilarating encores. Another triumph for Impacta, who added another success to their list with this memorable night, with Flórez confirming why he is so acclaimed by the city's audience.
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