- Nacho Duato, Ainhoa Arteta, Andrés Salado, José Manuel Zapata and Lucas Vidal will judge the performances of the 27 participants. In each category there will be a consultant to help with the judging.
- With guest artists such as José Mercé, Tamara, Rozalén, David Otero, Ana Guerra, Melani and Jesús Gabriel, last year’s winner.
- For the third year, the Miguel Delibes Cultural Centre in Valladolid will host the galas with the Castilla y León Symphony Orchestra.
The musical talent show ‘Prodigios’ will soon return to La 1 with a third edition full of laughter, emotions and a lot of talent. This year, the contest produced by RTVE in collaboration with Shine Iberia has expanded its jury. The great names of choreographer and dancer Nacho Duato, soprano Ainhoa Arteta and conductor Andrés Salado will be joined by tenor José Manuel Zapata and composer Lucas Vidal. Twenty-seven candidates, aged between 8 and 17, must demonstrate their impressive talent to win the title of ‘Prodigy of the Year’.
Another great novelty is that the jury will not be alone in the complicated decision of choosing the best, because in this third edition of the programme it will be assisted by leading names in each category who will correct and serve as an example to the contestants. Soprano Ruth Iniesta, mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrero, dancer and choreographer Antonio Najarro, pianist Mario Marzo, trumpet player Rubén Simeó, music producer Fernando Sancho and choreographer, director and former dancer Carmen Roche will become the jury’s consultants, helping with the evaluations and advising the contestants on possible areas of improvement in each performance.
“An exciting season
The word emotion has run through this Tuesday’s presentation of the third season of ‘Prodigios’ held at the Casa de la Radio in Prado del Rey. Boris Izaguirre and Paula Prendes, together with jury members Nacho Duato, Andrés Salado, José Manuel Zapata and Lucas Vidal, as well as Toñi Prieto, director of Entertainment at TVE, and Macarena Rey, CEO of Shine Iberia, did not want to miss the event. The only absentee was Ainhoa Arteta, who tonight premieres Verdi’s ‘Falstaff’ in Valencia. The presentation featured a performance by one of this year’s ‘prodigies’, David Agulló.
Toñi Prieto expressed her happiness at the premiere of the new season of ‘Prodigios’, a programme that in its previous editions has had “success and recognition” – the last final was watched by 1.7 million viewers: “TVE is committed to culture. We want to get the best performer, both in singing, dance and instrumental music. This season we have been surprised, we have a great pool of talent”, she said.
Macarena Rey said that in this edition new disciplines and instruments will be discovered; and defined the edition as “exciting and complicated”: “For the children, above all, it has been complicated to be able to perform due to the circumstances of this past year. We have made a selection from among 600 children because this year the conservatories were closed, and singing and dance have suffered the most”. He also stressed that it was very nice “to see the emotion of the guests who have come after so many months without being on stage”.
Boris Izaguirre also said that ‘Prodigios’ is a programme that has “the support of the audience”: “We are a very balsamic programme because we have become an oasis”. A necessary format that promotes “talent, respect and the promotion of culture” as part of entertainment. Backstage with Boris was Paula Prendes, who highlighted the quality of the participants: “Every year the casting gets better and better. And it’s our oasis and I hope that ‘Prodigios’ will live on for a long time, she said.
The dancer Nacho Duato stressed that he is in the programme “because of the children”: “I love watching them and it is an inexhaustible source of prodigies. I know that there is a lot of talent in Spain and I’m very excited. Whatever correction I give them, they teach me much more”; while Andrés Salado has highlighted the “sensitivity” of the children that transcends the screen: “I would like people to keep the magic of what we have experienced”.
For his part, the composer Lucas Vidal underlined the importance of this type of programme on public television: “Well done to TVE for supporting culture, which is necessary in this country. If, thanks to this programme, we can support families and children like ourselves, who have had these dreams, for me that alone makes it worthwhile”, he said. Meanwhile, José Manuel Zapata expressed his joy that this type of content reaches such a wide audience: “I’m especially happy that when people at home see a child singing Vivaldi in prime time and it touches their hearts… That’s priceless”.
[metaslider id=”32192″]
More than 600 children at the casting
This year, more than 600 children have participated in the selection process for the Dance, Singing and Instrumental categories. Boris Izaguirre, master of ceremonies of ‘Prodigios’, will present the performances of these great little talents.
The jury will be moved by one of the stars of the musical ‘Billy Elliot’, will be amazed by the overwhelming personality of the first representative of the Escuela Bolera and will fall in love with the youngest of the edition, an 8-year-old violinist, a true virtuoso, although she has only been practising for three years. In this edition there is a lot of talent and very diverse: even a young girl who comes to show her love for the castanets. For the first time, the jury will be able to enjoy the sound of this instrument that is so typical of our country and which hides a difficulty that many do not imagine.
The presenter Paula Prendes, from backstage, will bring the audience closer to the participants before and after the performances. The programme will feature three qualifying galas, a semi-final and a spectacular final. On stage will parade for example a dancer from Barcelona to whom the Paris Opera offered a place that he turned down to enter ‘Prodigies’, a lyric singer obsessed with tall buildings, planes and measurements, and a cellist who has a collection of insect exoskeletons.
All participants will give their best to become the winner, win the title ‘Prodigy of the Year’ and 20,000 euros in cash. The best in each category will also be rewarded with a four-day intensive course at the Centro de Alto Rendimiento Musical de la Universidad Alfonso X El Sabio in Madrid.
For the third consecutive year, the Miguel Delibes Cultural Centre in Valladolid will host the galas. The more than 60 musicians and professionals of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, conducted by Maestro Salvador Vázquez, will accompany the participants with more than 160 versions of composers such as Puccini, Verdi and Tchaikovsky. Contemporary themes such as ‘Kashmir’ by Led Zeppelin, ‘Don’t stop me now’ by Queen or the main theme of ‘Titanic’: ‘My heart will go on’ will also be played.
In each gala, the programme will feature guests such as José Mercé, Tamara, Rozalén, David Otero, Ana Guerra, Melani (Spanish representative at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019) and Jesús Gabriel (‘Prodigy of the year 2020’).
In addition, a tribute to the great contemporary Spanish composers who, without dedicating themselves to classical music, have created great songs that endure, such as Camilo Sesto, José Luis Perales, Manuel Alejandro, Antonio Quintero, Rafael de León, Manuel Quiroga Losada and the Dúo Dinámico.