The regional secretary of Culture, Marta Alonso, avoids commenting on the future of the Teatre Principal two weeks after its closure and presents the Martin i Soler hall as a permanent theatre of the IVC.
The Valencian Generalitat maintains its silence on the crisis of the Teatre Principal in Valencia. As two weeks pass since the closure of the city's main public performance space, the regional government has not clarified its involvement in the rehabilitation of the building nor responded to the request for a meeting from performing arts companies with president Juanfran Pérez Llorca.
The regional secretary of Culture, Marta Alonso, appeared before the media on Monday for the first time since the closure, during the presentation of an exhibition at the Centre del Carme. When asked about the situation of the Principal, Alonso sidestepped the issue: "I am going to talk about the Teatre Martin i Soler," she said, inviting journalists to report the "nice news" of the transfer of the programming of the Institut Valencià de Cultura (IVC) to the Martin i Soler hall at Les Arts.
The regional official insisted that she would not comment further and asked to focus on the premiere: "Give the nice news, that we have premiered in Martin i Soler, that there will be absolute permanence and that no one is harmed," she added. The season at the new venue kicked off this weekend with El entusiasmo, by Pablo Remón, and a hall that was "almost full," according to Alonso herself, who was accompanied by the Culture councillor, Carmen Ortí, and the deputy director of performing arts at the IVC, María José Mora.
"The objective has been met, we have a new theatre available for the city, spectators who were happy and content yesterday, the hall was almost full, and companies are also happy. Let's sell it positively"
Beyond the premiere, the appearance left an idea that conditions the future of the institute: the Martin i Soler will not be a provisional space, but "a theatre that the Generalitat will have in the future," in Alonso's words. This assumption raises questions about the configuration of the IVC in the medium term.
The main hurdle is the capacity. The Martin i Soler hall has around 400 seats, compared to 1,200 at the Principal, which represents a loss of 45% of seats. The venue on Calle de las Barcas was already selling only about 700 tickets per performance. In the short term, the move allows for the announced programming to continue without cancellations, but in the medium and long term, it reduces the IVC's capacity to host large productions.
The information, reported by valenciaplaza.com, also reflects that a meeting with the Diputació de València is still pending, which on Monday sent a letter to the Ministry requesting its involvement in the theatre's works. That meeting will not take place before October 9.
The Valencia City Council has proposed a new management formula in which the municipal government would participate, a proposal that the Generalitat has yet to respond to. The rehabilitation of the Principal is expected to exceed 60 million euros, according to the estimates being considered.
For spectators, the IVC programming continues at the Martin i Soler and at other venues such as the Tem and the Rialto, which have been enabled to avoid cancellations. The next date for performing arts at the new hall will be October 9, when institutional conversations will resume.
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