Crooners, cupletistas, transformistas, dancers, a ladies' orchestra and a jazz orchestra revive the entertainment of Chileans during the roaring 20's, in a show by the company Del Salón al Cabaret of the Alberto Hurtado University (UAH).
At that time there was no discotheque. Mega concerts did not exist. Neither is the latest release on Netflix. The youth had fun in the halls to the rhythm of the Charleston and foxtrot. Women wore fur, cut their hair, and rebelled in their wardrobes. In March 1920 El Mercurio published: "It is incredible how short our girls wear their skirts, revealing their legs up to the knee."
Those years of effervescence and an outbreak of ballroom dancing inspire La Belle Epoque, a show directed by the musicologist from the Alberto Hurtado University (UAH), Juan Pablo González, where he resumes the tour of Santiago entertainment that he had previously done with Noches de Goyescas, set on the new year of 1960, and Days of Radio in Chile, with the role of radio during the Second World War.
"This is a great variety program, which gives heritage to our sound identity. The composers are Chilean, it is a repertoire that was played here, that is why we want to honor them and reinstate them in memory," says Juan Pablo González.
26 artists on stage give life to a repertoire of twenty songs, performed by a Orquesta de Señoritas, "a type of string orchestra that was born in Europe due to the lack of work for women who entered the conservatory. So they created their group," says González.
There are also the interpreters. The crooner, the singer who makes the chorus when the band does something instrumental. The cupletistas, the star girls of the show who were born when they became independent from zarzuela and were able to pursue an independent career. And a woman who was always in ballroom music, the soprano.
Along with them, a drag queen participates, who revives a classic character of the time: the star imitator. "It is a very key element and has to do with our Chilean identity, where the stars do not reach, then they imitate. In the '20s they were men who imitated men and women," he adds. For this role, Andrés Sáez (Chicago), known for his character Laura Bell, was called.
And finally, the inevitable presenter who starts the evening: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Politeama Theater's musical variety program. Which is presented under the kind sponsorship of White Malta, where life begins. Let the parade of stars begin!"
Arrangements: Luis Advis
Artistic direction and research Juan Pablo González
Stage direction and production Pilar Santelices
Musical director Felipe Hidalgo
Comprehensive design Gustavo Acevedo
Production assistant Felipe González
Dance teacher Francisca Infante
Choreography Belle Epoque Company
Cast
Soprano, Jenny Muñoz
Mezzo, Yeanethe Munzenmayer
Tenor, Gonzalo Cuadra
Baritone, Cristián Moya
Transformer, Andres Sáez
Actors, Camila Laso, Carolina Ruiz Tagle, Manuel Almonacid, Antonio Chuaqui
Presenter, Juan Pablo González
