Discover Spanish Zarzuela
In this overview of the unique lyric-dramatic genre, rising star mezzosoprano Julia Merino and acclaimed pianist Ricardo Gosalbo embark on a musical journey to sunlit Spain to explore Zarzuela’s vast riches. Presented by the Instituto Cervantes Leeds, this recital will feature Zarzuela highlights by masters of the genre such as Rupert Chapí, Gerónimo Giménez, Pablo Luna, and José Serrano.
Ricardo Gosalbo
Ricardo Gosalbo is a Spanish-French collaborative pianist, musical director and researcher. He works as a vocal coach at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and City Lit where he also teaches piano and harmony. A devoted champion of Spanish and Hispano-American music, Ricardo combines his duties as director of the Hispanic Music Series with his research on Spanish vocal music.
Ricardo works regularly with singers and has appeared at venues such as the Barbican, Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, St Martin-in-the-Fields and Kings Place in London, the Chapelle Royale in Brussels, the Salle Cortot in Paris, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Kulturpalast in Dresden and the Filharmonia Narodowa in Warsaw. He has also been featured on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune programme and several Spanish national broadcasters.
A multifaceted music collaborator, Ricardo is a founding member of the Deco Ensemble, praised as ‘one of the UK’s foremost tango ensembles’, with whom he has released two albums. He has also worked extensively with contemporary dancers and choreographers, having performed with the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and the Polish Dance Theatre.
Ricardo trained at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and at Guildhall School of Music & Drama. His mentors have included Eugene Asti, Iain Burnside, Graham Johnson, Martin Katz, Malcolm Martineau, Peter Schreier and Roger Vignoles. He has won several prizes, including the ‘Prix de Lied’ at the Concours International de chant-piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger, the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform and the Paul Hamburger Prize for voice and piano duo.
Julia Merino
Julia Merino began her piano and
singing studies in her hometown, Málaga (Spain). Awarded with the “Elizabeth
Sweeting” scholarship, she is currently finishing the Opera Course programme at
“Guildhall School of Music and Drama” (London, United Kingdom) with professors
Janice Chapman and Marcus van den Akker.
As a soloist, she has worked with
various national and international orchestras. Some of her notable performances
in Spain include oratorios with the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra and the
University of Jaén Orchestra, as well as participations with the Málaga
Symphony Orchestra in projects such as “Amor Brujo” (Falla) or the Metalírica
Festival at the Echegaray Theatre (Málaga). She also participated in the
“Encuentro de Música y Academia de Santader” during the summer of 2024.
