Visit the Auditorio de Tenerife Adán Martín

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Hollywood Meets Opera on Tenerife

Back in 2012, if you attended the casting at the Auditorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz and were lucky enough, you could be part of “The Fast and The Furious” crew. However, the concert- and congress hall is not just a place for castings for huge Hollywood productions. It is also the home of the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra and hosts various events throughout the year, including ballet, dance shows, opera, comedy, musicals and gospel.

Find out more about this awesome building by reading this post.

First Things First: The Current Program

Check out the current program of the Auditorio de Tenerife here. This page contains all the information about upcoming events.

Why is there a Ship on the Promenade of Santa Cruz?

The idea of building a center for music, creativity and dance originated in 1970. Jose Antonio Fernández Alba received the assignment to do so in 1978, but his plans were never put into practice. It wasn’t until 1994 that it was built by the Valencian architect, Santiago Calatrava Valls. 

Today, the eye-catching Auditorio de Tenerife is located at the harbor of Santa Cruz. The shape is open to interpretation. For some, the building is shaped like a ship; for others, it is like a moon, a helmet, a wave, or a giant cobratong. One thing is for sure: passing by here without noticing it is impossible.
Its external walls are decorated with the typical Canarian Trencadís – which are small pieces of pottery that reflect the sunlight and give the building a sparkly appearance. You probably know this style of architecture from Park Güell, which was created by Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona.

An Expensive Struggle for the Sake of the Arts

Originally, the construction wasn’t expected to cost more than 30 million euros, but 33 years later, the cost reached 72 million euros. On September 26 of 2003, the Auditorio de Tenerife opened its doors. The first concert Fanfaria, of Krzysztof Penderecki, was attended by a lot of important people, including Queen Sofia and Crown Prince Felipe.

The building can accommodate about 2000 people and, in 2011, it received the name affix Adán Martín in honor of Adán Martín Menis, who is a politician from Santa Cruz and the former president of the Canary Islands.

The structure of the opera house is quite spectacular, with its different platforms, convoluted walls, and 50m high wave-construction on the ceiling. This all overlaps with a curvy roof that hovers above the dome of the Sala principal o Sinfónica, the Great Hall of Auditorio de Tenerife. The building’s curved shape has made it a popular and iconic destination on the island.

In addition to this curved feature, flights of stairs break up the mighty white external walls and, from the top, you get a spectacular view of the sea, with the Anaga-Mountains in the background.

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A Symphony Orchestra and an Organ in One Building

There are actually two halls inside the Auditorio de Tenerife: 

• La Sala Principal o Sinfónica (with 1658 seats)
• La Sala de Cámera (up to 428 people)

The avant-garde building is also the home of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife. Two years after its opening, they installed an organ in the Sala Principal designed by the Spanish company, Blancafort Orgue Ners de Montserrat. The person in charge was a french composer and organist Jean Guillou. He stressed the importance of achieving a perfectly balanced and clear sound. For this reason, he arranged the organ pipes in a unique arrangement based on the design of the Sala Principal. It gives the impression that the entire auditorium of Tenerife moves visually and acoustically, providing a sound around the listener.

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There Is No Education Without Culture

The curators of the Auditorio de Tenerife have been trying to involve the public in the program of the “Operahouse of Tenerife”. As a result, the Área Educativa y Social has been founded with the slogan “No existe Educatión sin cultura” – There is no education without culture.

This includes various projects in different culture areas, in which everyone can participate. In this, they pay special attention to schoolchildren and people at risk of social exclusion. The concept of culture is that it is a product of the creative process, and everyone should be able to participate in it, as a means of reducing barriers between cultures and educational levels. While some projects focus on pedagogy, others focus on creative development and learning different techniques. Basically, their programmes create space for the relationship between art and people.

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Projects and Events of the Auditorio de Tenerife

The Auditorio de Tenerife presents a variety of projects and events to the public, so everyone can find something they like, the range includes:

1. Festivals
2. Concerts
3. Musicals
4. Opera
5. Dance
6. Theater

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1. Festivals

Festival Internacional de Música de Canarias: The performances at this festival go beyond ordinary dancing, and demonstrate the commonality and differences of diverse movements and dancing-styles. This power of live dances transforms the Auditorio de Tenerife every year into a multipurpose venue for contemporary dance proposals.

Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz: The first Jazz Festival took place in 1992 with Canarian performers. Since 1992, it has developed into an international event that has hosted artists such as Kenny Garret, Tanika Charles & the wonderful or The Allan Harris Band. It’s even grown so much that Heineken sponsors the festival every summer.

FIMUCITÉ (Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Tenerife): Every year since 2007, Tenerife becomes a hotspot for international film music. Hosting free events, concerts, round tables, conferences and much more. Diego Navarro conducts the festival’s own symphony orchestra and chorus, la Tenerife Film Orchestra & Choir.

Festival de Música Contemporánea de Tenerife (FMUC): June is the month in which percussion makes its appearance. For the whole month, various events take place, including a concert at the Espacio Cultural Caja Canarias, that features works from this and the last century.

2. Concerts

Conciertos didácticos: The Área Educativa of the Auditorios de Tenerife offers all schools, universities, academies and other educational institutions in Tenerife the opportunity to book courses for their students. Instructors visit on set dates and give classes at that time. However, the offer is not limited to Santa Cruz, but is available throughout the entire island.

Quantum Ensemble: This ensemble is the result of a policy decision made to encourage more interest in classical music. The ensemble is made up of experienced Canarian and European solists and musicians as Cristo Barrios (clarinet), David Ballesteros (violin) and Gustavo Díaz-Jerez (piano). It is aimed at interpreting classical music in a modern way to connect with the audience during the concerts. In addition, members of the Quantum Ensemble give workshops and seminars.

Sinfónica de Tenerife (OST): Founded in 1935 as Orquestra de Cámara de Canaris, it was renamed Sinfónica de Tenerife (OST) in 1970. It is the house-intern orchestra of the Auditorio de Tenerife. The concert season of the Opera House begins in September and lasts until June of the next year. A number of concerts are held throughout the period and, either single cards, or subscriptions for all concerts can be purchased.

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3. Musicals

For years, the Auditorio de Tenerife has been home to major international musical productions. This has contributed to the steady growth of the music industry in Spain. Among the musicals hosted so far, are classics like Chicago, My Fair Lady, Mama Mia, Les Miserables and Beauty and the Beast. Personal interpretations of well-known compositions are also performed with Canarian musical performers such as Evita and Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Jaime Azpilicueta.

Musical IES: This project of Cabildo de Tenerife (The Council of Tenerife) is realized in cooperation with the Auditorio de Tenerife. Target groups are young people and students who would like to take weekly lessons in dance, singing and acting. This project takes place at different locations in Tenerife. In addition, adolescents have the possibility to gain knowledge in make-up, film & directing, screenplays, and costume. The teachers are experts in their respective fields, and work for the Auditorio de Tenerife. This video gives you a better idea about the above courses.

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4. Opera de Tenerife

Manos a la Ópera: The aim of this project is to communicate the entire creative process of composing an opera for children and young people – by letting them try it on their own. Anyone who is interested can take courses in literary writing, music, theater, drama and visual arts.

Ópera en Familia: The aim of this project is to prepare international pieces in such a way as to fascinate first-time opera visitors, even if they are quite young. Families can therefore visit operas because of the age-appropriate texts. The directors shorten the operas to 70 minutes maximum, translate them into Spanish and show the translations on monitors. The challenge lies in trying not to change the original idea and the core of the opera, but successfully adapting it for young visitors.

Ópera Estudio: This academy offers courses to provide further education to young singers who aspire to get a job at the opera. Components of the training are techniques for interpreting songs and scenic presentation, style, improvisation theater, drama and other areas. In cooperation with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, they produce interpretations of classic operas, like The Marriage of Figaro, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which are performed at the Sala Sinfónica of the Auditorio de Tenerife.

5. Dance

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Danza en Comunidad: The Tenerife Danza Lab (TDL), the intern dance company, develops programs for individuals and groups who want to discover dance as a creative way of expressing themselves. It is also encouraged to experiment with new dance styles. With Danza en Comunidad, the experiment started to involve more urbanites and arouse interest in dancing. And it was done successfully! The concept is now also available throughout the island.

Escuela del Espectador: This project is intended to help visitors understand and interpret what’s seen and heard. A group of 15 people can participate in workshops with the interpretation of the piece and the language. Previous knowledge is not necessary.

Tenerife Danza Lab (TDL): This platform provides the opportunity for people to try out various ways in which body and movement can be synchronized. In workshops, both professionals and anyone else interested, can be inspired and let their creativity run wild. In addition, performances for children are organized. Two forms are available:

• Formato Sala Cámara: Presentation of TDL and presentations of past performances, followed by discussions.

• Talleres específicos Sala Castillo: Bachelor dance students, people with physical or mental impairment or from penal institutions may work together here with professors, animators, tutors, and nurses on various projects.

6. Theater

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Producción propia: At the very beginning, a self-imposed task of Auditorio de Tenerife was to take co-productions with various theaters around the world. This is also one of the main resources of the “Opera de Tenerife”, as it licenses its productions to these theatres. This program is aimed at students and amateur associations audiences such as:

• Teatro en la Escuela: Through this project young people can provide professional theater at school centers. This initiative aims to make the scenic languages known to students in their own educational context, and to link academic aspects to the professional context of the Canarian Performing Arts.
• Escuela de Teatro: This school has the educational and cultural purpose of teaching theater for children, youth, and adults in order to promote quality artistic action and collaborate with the cultural development of their environment.
• Teatro aficionado: The Theater aims to stimulate and to promote the theatrical movement among the existing associations in the Island. Its fundamental objective is the accomplishment of a theatrical assembly where the participants will put all their creative potential, ideas and feelings, desire to communicate, and skills and knowledge on the tables.

More Offers at the Auditorio de Tenerife

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Guided Tours

Auditorio de Tenerife offers guided tours. Discover why the curves, lines and the bright white color of this imposing building has impressed people when they see it for the first time.

Guided tours are offered Monday through Friday from 10:00am to 5:00pm, and on Saturdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm (except on holidays). It is recommended to make a reservation in advance through their contact channels for visits: 

Phone: 922 568 600 (extension 201)

E-Mail: [email protected]

Website: https://auditoriodetenerife.com/es/informacion

More information about opening times and reservations can be found here. All current events also can be found, and bookings can be made, on the Facebook page of the Auditorio de Tenerife.

Directions and Parking

With Google Maps, you can easily create your travel plan by entering your departure point in the directions and selecting whether you plan to arrive by car or bus. If you go by bus, Google Maps will give you the exact departure times under “travel options.”You can also always check the website of Titsa to find the times of the buses (guaguas).