Voice: Ezequiel Benítez Guitar: Paco León. Rhythm: Manuel Cantarote and Juan Diego Valencia. Dance: Adela Campallo Guitar: Juan Campallo and David Vargas Voice: Jesús Corbacho and Miguel Soto ‘El Londro’. Percussion:. Paco Vega. Series: Flamenco Viene del Sur. Teatro Central (Seville) Tuesday, May 15, 2018 Attendance: two-thirds.
Text: Sara Arguijo
Photos: Adam Newby
The review you’re about to read probably isn’t fair to the artists, nor to the audience who had no idea about the structure laid out by this show, nor for yours truly who, when you think of it, ought to be paid double. All because the proposition of the series Flamenco Viene del Sur to close out the season at the Teatro Central was a double bill of two shows, juxtaposed, that of singer Ezequiel Benítez, and dancer Adela Campallo, with no relation between the two (neither in concept nor worldliness), obliging the spectator to go from the serene singing of the first, to the dramatic intensity of the second in the few minutes of rest between the two.
An unfortunate idea whose justification is found in bureaucracy, but which, after all, made no artistic sense at all. In the first place because the theater imposes its own demands (and in this sense, an emcee was needed to explain the two performances) and in the second place, because the joining of these two names was clearly forced, to such an extreme that the confused person next to me asked his partner what was coming next when the dancer’s group appeared.
That being said, Ezequiel Benítez offered a slow deliberate recital that began with the cantinas of Aurelio Sellés, and continued with soleá dedicated to María Bala, definitely the best thing of the night. Here, and in the bulerías song of Vallejo, María Magdalena, the singer made a show of his sweet personality, reflected in his smile and in his throat which are his strong points. Because, although his repertoire was irregular, and he appeared more undecided in seguiriyas and fandangos, the Jerez singer is pleasing thanks to the naturalness and sincerity he transmits, as demonstrated in the fiesta finale of bulerías from his hometown.
For her part, Adela Campallo decided to lay out a solid energetic performance in which her feet were like narrators of stories possibly silenced. In this way, the Seville dancer, superbly backed up by the voices of Jesús Corbacho and El Londro, and impeccable back-up group, put just the right touch, with plenty of technique to show off with the rebelliousness of the dance. They say the calm always comes after the storm, but this Tuesday it was the other way around.
