Four Fira Mediterrània shows will feature in the Kursaal theatre programme

In addtion to the Gelabert-Azzopardi company, which will officially open the Fira with the staging of 'Belmonte', there will also be the concerts by Palestine artist Rin Banna and Algerian artist Kamel El Harrachi, and lastly, the Somorrostro Danza Flamenca company's flamenco-tap-funk show. Tickets will be on sale from 1 September.
Further collaboration between the Fira Mediterrània Foundation and the Kursaal theatre of Manresa can be seen in the upcoming edition of the Fira Mediterrània which will take place in Manresa from 4 to 7 of November. Following on from the well received concert which the Algerian singer Souad Massi gave in the Kursaal auditorium last year, 4 shows from the Fira's upcoming edition have been included in the Kursaal theatre's regular programme.

Firstly, on Thursday 4 November, the Gelabert-Azzopardi company and the Banda Municipal de Barcelona, conducted by Carles Santos, will officially open this year's Fira Mediterrània with the return to the stage of the show 'Belmonte', an emblematic creation by Cesc Gelabert and Lydia Azzopardi, who are this year's guest artists.

On Friday 5 November you can hear one of the most powerful voices from the Mediterranean region perform in the Kursaal auditorium. Born in Nazareth, Rim Banna will transport us with her songs to Palestinian skies and to the conflict which darkens the dreams and hopes of the Palestinian people. On the following day, Saturday 6 November, there will be a concert by Algerian Kamel El Harrachi, a sensational new artist in world roots music who, along with his talent, will bring the themes of the Algerian Chaabi genre to the stage. This year he has been chosen for the prestigious Womex Festival which will take place at the end of October in Denmark, where he will perform the week before the Fira.

Lastly, on Sunday 7 November, the Somorrostro Danza Flamenca company, the dance company which created the Taller de Músics (music workshop) in 2003, will bring 'Como peces en el agua' (Like Fish in Water), their elegant and temperate show which is full of sensibility and escapes the clichéd image of Flamenco, to the Kursaal.

The tickets for these shows can be bought from 6pm on Wednesday 1 September at the Kursaal box office and via telephone or internet: (938723636 and www.kursaal.cat).

• article submitted by: Laia Valls, Fira Mediterrània de Manresa (Catalonia / Spain)