La Revista Mujer

ALONDRA DE LA PARRA surprised us with another innovative and breakthrough musical project called THE SILENCE OF SOUND.

The Silence of Sound is a multidisciplinary show that includes a philharmonic orchestra, a clown actress and an elaborate video installation aimed at audiences of all ages. 

In this musical project Alondra de la Parra acts as host and this time she makes her debut as artistic director together with Gabriela Muñoz, a clown actress called Chula the Clown acting in a stage performance through gestures and figures, without the intervention of words. 

But in order to understand a little the magnitude of this creation between these two artists, we present a little about these talented women.

A WORK CREATED BY WOMEN 

ABOUT ALONDRA DE LA PARRA

When I had the honor of interviewing Andrea de la Parra for the first time with her The Impossible Orchestra project in México City, I was impressed that even though she is a world-known orchestra conductor, she knows how to get off the podium and approach other talents around the world to shed light on them within her orchestra. 

The Silence of Sound is undoubtedly another example of her ability to break down the walls between orchestras and audiences and unite them to give an entire musical experience together. All this to introduce the public to the wonderful world of classical music.

Under that same guideline, Alondra de la Parra founded the first edition of the PAAX GNP Festival in México. At this festival, Alondra received highly respected musicians from around the world, such as Julian Prégardien, Guy Braunstein, Nemanja Radulovic, Pancho Flores, and Aleksey Igudesman, with whom she shared the stage in five concerts. 

In April 2022, she was named principal guest conductor of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, a position that marks a new chapter for the artist. Her compelling musical acumen and passion have made her a sought-after artist around the world. 

Read more about Alondra de la Parra here: Alondra de la Parra Triumphs with the Imposible Orchestra. 

ABOUT CHULA THE CLOWN

Gabriela Muñoz has experience in theater, circus, and opera. She completed her studies at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA), based on the pedagogy of Jacques Lecoq, following postgraduate courses at the London School of Physical Theatre. 

In February 2015, with the support of EFI TEATRO, INBA, and Co Producciones, she premiered her second creation, “Limbo”, in Mexico City in collaboration with Latin Grammy winners Natalia Lafourcade and Ernesto García. 

In 2019, she created DIRT!, which was nominated for the City Award for best show, and in 2020, she received a medal of international merit by the Mexico City Congress in the field of cultural promotion. 

WHAT IS THE SILENCE OF SOUND

As Alondra de la Parra expresses during the press conference, “rather I could begin to say what it is not”, she explains that:

«The Silence of Sound «is not opera, it is not a clown, it is not ballet, it is not cinema, but it has elements of all these disciplines, to present a NEW way of expressing music.» 

It is a musical journey through classical music interpreting well-known authors such as Debussy, in which one follows what happens to the character of Gabriela -Chula the Clown. 

In this journey Gabriela the Clown experiences everything and begins to lose herself, to live, fall in love, fall out of love, find herself, it is an internal and external journey that we have all experienced at one time or another and we make it our own. 

«We try to connect with the children we all have inside from an adult perspective».

WHAT IS ALONDRA DE LA PARRA MAIN GOAL WITH THE SILENCE OF SOUND?

Alondra de la Parra wanted a project in which she could introduce people of all ages, from zero to one hundred years old, to the wonderful world she lives in:  

«We tried to connect with the inner child we carry inside us from an adult perspective». 

«We wanted a project that had no barriers of language, or words, and what better than the character of Gabriela Muñoz as a clown with her silent performance, to accomplish it».

HOW DID THE IDEA COME ABOUT?

When Alondra de la Parra witnessed Gabriela Muñoz perform for the first time at Limbo de Milano, she was impressed with Gabriela’s performance and immediately felt a hunch that there was a musical project she should do with Gabriela. 

She thought Gabriela would be the ideal character with her silent performance. Alondra de la Parra thought that she was the perfect partner for the project to perform an introduction of the symphony orchestra to the public, as a clown.  

«The orchestra and I worked exclusively with sound, Gabriela only with images. «We complement each other perfectly.» 

Together, the director and clown, wrote the story of a wordless protagonist who gradually discovers, explores, and develops her own creative potential with the help of music.

This project took six years to become a reality.

ABOUT THE VISUAL PERFORMANCE 

The images that give visual life to this story are produced by those who have spent endless hours to get the message that the clown intends to convey in her performance: amazement, happiness, sadness, love, disappointment, joy, and hope.  

MARIONA OMEDES, Catalonia’s Director of Video Art and her co-director Carlos Mora are responsible for the incredible visual images of the show The Silence of Sound. 

No less important was the director of Custom Design REBEKA DORNHEGE, a German-Chilean artist who made the Clown shine in her costumes with visually attractive and cheerful colors that transmit life to the character and the story.

ALONDRA DE LA PARRA MAKES HER STAGE DIRECTORIAL DEBUT 

Alondra makes her debut as Stage Director in this project and tells us: «For a long time we were looking for a stage director to help us and we couldn’t find one. Until Gabriela Muñoz, in a very generous way, after working with great directors and herself being director of other projects, she proposed to me: why don’t you direct Alondra?»

That was an important moment as an artist because Alondra de la Parra raised from orchestra director to stage director, and without any previous experience, but at the same time with a very clear idea of what she wanted to happen in the story. 

«Not coming from a performing arts background, Alondra de la Parra did it with great clarity, firmness, love and tenderness», says Gabriela Muñoz.

CHALLENGES

MIXING CLASSICAL MUSIC WITH A CLOWN IS AN INCREDIBLY BRAVE THING TO DO.

When Alondra de la Parra and Gabriela the Clown were asked at the press conference what were the challenges they had to face in those areas where they disagreed in order to reach the beautiful harmony of silence, they answered the following. 

Alondra responded, «Gabriela and I collaborated to make this project in which we felt a great passion. We knew what we wanted to transmit to the public, and didn’t have problems stating what we wanted, but we certainly did not agree on some points, although they were minimal».

However, Gabriela said, “we managed it well because we feel a deep respect for what we do, and above all the confidence we have in each other in what we are proposing is going to turn out well.»

ALONDRA DE LA PARRA’s FUTURE PROJECTS

Alondra de la Parra considers this project as an innovative project that breaks barriers within classical music and lays the foundation for something else new to come. She feels it is an opus one and wants to continue creating more music with other artists in the near future.

An example of her next project is The Paax Festival will take place from June 29 to July 3 in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo.

Alondra de la Parra explained that the Paax Festival will also include dance with the performance of dancers from the San Francisco Ballet and the Royal Opera House directed by maestro Christopher Wheeldon, as well as soloists from the main orchestras in Europe who, in addition to performing with the Impossible Orchestra, will give recitals to share their talent.

And we, at La Revista Mujer, look forward to her next project.