The visionary French creator, Philippe Starck is the author of the complete rehabilitation of the historic Madrid venue that comes back to life to celebrate the magic and passion of Flamenco.
The multifaceted and award-winning creator has dreamt and conceived a place that embodies the rawness and passion of one of the most visceral arts in the world. He cleaned the existing building of the various stratifications accumulated over time to get to the essential, its heart, its core, this central fire, this primitive cry that is flamenco. No decoration, no frills, just this violent, radical red earth cave, revealed by the thousand lights of magical flames.
“The Teatro Eslava is a red soil grotto, glowing with a thousand modern candles. This voluntary deprivation welcomes in its center the fire of the primitive cry that is flamenco. All of Spain, all of Andalusia, all of History concentrated in a gesture, a sound, a force.”, says Starck about the project, and adds: “This magic is protected by a hypnotic stage framing, work of Ara Starck, violent abstraction, reflection of the human drama. The Teatro Eslava is a complete, monolithic work of art to the eternal glory of flamenco.”
Everywhere, the Goodnight lamps, designed by Starck for Kartell, inspired by traditional candles, seem to float in the grotto-like spaces guiding the visitors through the Teatro Eslava like magical and benevolent landmarks.
“Flamenco comes from the earth, from the desert almost; it is a fire that keeps you warm and fascinated. Because the emotion of flamenco is so pure, so naked, I had to do the less possible, radically covering everything with red mud. Decoration is weak compared to the absolute beauty and art of flamenco. I created the minimum a cave with candle-like lights to welcomes the fire of Flamenco.” Ph.S
At the heart of the Teatro Eslava is the greatness of ‘cante’ and ‘baile’, which will come to live with the premiere of OléOlá: a brand-new concept of flamenco musical created by the dancer and choreographer Cristina Hoyos -to date, the most awarded of all time- and the three-time winner of the National Theater Award José Carlos Plaza.
