Title:

Flamenco and opera and international cooperation

Date:
30 September 2022
First image:
Opera and fine dining at Hacienda La Soledad
Text:

It’s not just in conference sessions and meetings that international cooperation happens: the social events at IASP Seville also gave delegates the chance to relax, get to know each other, and enjoy some Spanish culture!

Starting with a welcome reception sponsored by Nanoracks in the gardens of the Barceló hotel, attendees from around the world greeted old friends and the new friends they’d only met on screen. Luis Perez, CEO of local host PCT Cartuja, and IASP CEO Ebba Lund welcomed everyone to Seville, IASP vice president Lena Miranda planted a tree as a small gesture towards sustainability and a lasting legacy of IASP’s 39th World Conference. And it wasn’t just a symbolic shovelful of earth: true to the STP/AOI spirit of international collaboration, IASP delegates worked together until the olive sapling was properly planted and standing straight in the ground before going back to the party!

There was also the chance to enjoy a flamenco performance over dinner at the Navigation Pavilion, which houses the Museo de la Navegación. A ship-like space dedicated to Seville’s Atlantic exploration and the first circumnavigation of the globe 500 years ago, it was transformed into a dinner and dance space where local group Planeta Jondo entertained delegates with their modern twist on traditional flamenco, Seville’s most famous art form.

And it wasn’t the only performance in store. The Gala Dinner, courtesy of local host PCT Cartuja, took delegates just outside the city to Hacienda La Soledad, a 16th century country house. Built in the Sevillian baroque style, the estate is surrounded by olive groves and orange trees, and filled with frescoes, tapestries and historic architectural features including a 17th century oil mill from its past as supplier of olive oil, wool and soap to the Archbishop of Seville.

Guests were serenaded by costumed opera singers who walked between the tables, performing arias from some of the most famous works set in Seville including The Barber of Seville, the Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Carmen as well as La Traviata and Turandot. Seville has long inspired artists, writers and musicians, and composers including Mozart, Bizet, Rossini, Verdi, Donizetti and Beethoven, all used the Andalusian capital as the backdrop for their operas. The operas may be widely known, but not everyone can say they enjoyed a personal performance over dinner, in Seville itself! 

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