The concert Flamenco Sephardit which celebrates two distinct Spanish cultures fused together through music, dance and poetry returns to Miami Beach for the fifth consecutive year on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
This upcoming fifth anniversary concert, taking place at the spot where it premiered back in 2014 to an audience of 1,200 in Temple Emanu-El, 1701 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach, features a cast of international opera stars, guitarists, Flamenco masters and classical musicians.
The concert will continue to explore the connection between Ladino and Flamenco music, including similarities and differences in these two cultures. Ladino music comes from the Jews who were exiled from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition as it emerged from the songs these exiled Jews composed in their adopted homelands using their old Spanish from the 1400s. Similarly, Flamenco emerged from the cries and sufferings of the Moors, gypsies and Jews after they were banned from Spain during the Spanish Inquisition.
Jeffrey Eckstein, an executive producer for the concert, said Flamenco Sephardit has certainly come a long way over the years.
“When we started we only had one dancer, and now we have a team of dancers and we’re able to do a lot more variety with both a female and a male dancer. It’s also just evolved in the message of the show. The very first idea I had was combining a classical guitarist with a Flamenco guitarist and just fusing classical style together with Flamenco and Ladino, but it has evolved into what I was hoping would be a bigger message to society that people of all religions and cultures can live together in peace, especially in the world we’re living in today as that message has become increasingly poignant.”
Among returning performers from the concert’s previous years include dancer Celia and guitarist Paco Fonta of the group Siempre Flamenco, a co-executive producer for the show.
Celia Fonta, who along with dancer Jorge Robledo, a new performer for this year’s show, will provide a flamenco dance performance, said, “We’re very excited that we’ve been able to do this every year and our audience has been quite amazing every single year.
We always like to do a lot of the songs that seem to be favorites among the audience. People know the songs and this year we’re going to be doing a mix of the songs we’ve done in past years with new arrangements.”
Eckstein said, “We are reworking some of the pieces that the audience loves and doing them in different ways that more integrate every one of the cast together as a team to really have a true fusion experience.
That is the entire point, that different things of different origins can be fused together when of course everyone in the cast has different origins.”
Singers will be accompanied by guitarists Paco Fonta and Michel Gonzalez, cellist Alexa Ciciretti and percussionist Adolfo Herrera. The producers also welcome back international opera star Audrey Babcock, who is noted for having an extensive knowledge of the Sephardic and Ladino repertoire, to the cast this year. Her vocal styling will be paired with Paco Fonta’s cante jondo, a Flamenco vocal style, and the liturgical chanting of Rabbi Marc Philippe, Temple Emanu-El’s spiritual leader. A new violinist, Yada Lee, will also perform this year.
Single tickets for the show are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Visit flamencosephardit.com or call 800-515-1831 to purchase tickets or for more information, including different ticket packages and prices.