We were lucky enough that the tour schedule gave us a full day off in Madrid on Sunday. Some people went to the mountains, one group to Toledo, a large contingent were to be found in;the Prado Museum, and there was even a group who went to a bullfight. It was a good rest before the last day, also an important concert.

The last day could easily have been an anti-climax after Madrid, but in fact it was anything but, and culminated in what was almost certainly the best concert of the tour. We left Madrid in the morning for the 3 hour bus journey to Zaragoza. After the rolling hills of the north and the flat desert-like south, this was yet another different landscape, and a reminder of the huge diversity of this country. It felt at times as if we were travelling through Wyoming or South Dakota, with big flat-topped mountains and wild open spaces. We arrived early afternoon in Zaragoza, which is a surprisingly big city, and the host of the 2008 Expo, and by early evening we were at the hall - the Auditorio de Zaragoza.

The hall is a little over 10 years old, and is regarded as being one of the finest halls in Spain. It was immediately apparant as soon as we walked into the auditorium that it would be a superb acoustic. The hall is built in the "vineyard" style, with terraces of seating positioned at different angles to the stage, not unlike the famous Berlin Philharmonie.

At the rehearsal Nicola thanked the Orchestra and said how much she had enjoyed being with the RSNO for the week, and Stéphane apologised for the fact that he had to leave for the airport immediately after the concert in order to be in Glyndebourne for a rehearsal of Carmen the following day. He presented a tray of sweets and candied fruits to the Orchestra with his thanks for a great tour. He's conducting Carmen at Glyndebourne all summer, so we won't see him now until the performances of Honegger's King David at the Edinburgh Festival in mid-August.

And then the concert. It seemed to be completely sold out, and we were appearing alongside some of the world's greatest orchestras and soloists in a very impressive season. Every tour has its one really stand-out concert, and it normally seems to come sometime in the middle or towards the end. But on this tour it was the very last concert. Inspired by the gorgeous acoustics of the hall, perhaps relaxed in the knowledge that this was the last concert, perhaps even influenced in some way by the fact that the sun had finally come out after a week of positively Scottish weather (!), something special happened on stage - a certain brilliance, confidence and real energy. Nicola played at her absolute best, and Debussy's Ibéria came to life like never before. It's such elusive music, and it depends for its success on the highest degree of transparency and variety of colour. Tonight we had a rich, resonant acoustic which provided the perfect conditions for French music, and the Debussy and Ravel's La valse which closed the concert, were top class performances. A great way to finish, and of course the audience loved it. We'll hope very much to return to Zaragoza on our next trip to Spain which is tentatively scheduled for spring 2011. 

A few human interest moments. On Day 1 , I included a picture of some street musicians being given the RSNO tour t-shirts. Well, today the t-shirt makes its return, this time in a different incarnation. Sophie Lang ingeniously customised one on the bus journey into an appropriately Mediterranean version, and was nice enough to model it on stage before the rehearsal!

Eating on tour can be very unpredictable, and sometimes opportunities are few and far between. Our Orchestra Manager, Ewen McKay, sets up his picnic in the management office during the first half of the concert:

Stéphane and Nicola say goodbye. Stéphane to Glyndebourne, and Nicky off to China for more concerto appearances:

Two very important people: Hélène Noiset and Dan Segura.

Hélène is our Tour Manager, and has been simply brilliant in keeping everything organised the whole way through the tour - from hotels to buses to hall get-ins to food to endless advice and support. And as a Spanish speaker she was completely invaluable in a country where not much English is spoken. Dan Segura is our agent in Spain. He booked all the concerts with the promoters, negotiated our fees, and organised the contracts. He also knows great restaurants! Dan and Hélène have been a fantastic part of our family this week, and we will miss them both as we return to Scotland tomorrow.

Simon Woods
Chief Executive

---

Share this page...