After participating in Victoria de los Ángeles' Centenary Gala at the Gran Teatro del Liceo in 2023 and recently triumphing at the Teatro Real in La Traviata, soprano Sabina Puértolas makes her debut at LIFE Victoria alongside one of the most frequent pianists in the cycle, Rubén Fernández Aguirre, who has participated every season since its creation. With this programme, they showcase the work of Navarran composer Emilio Arrieta, who, although known for his zarzuela Marina, also cultivated song and was a member of the ‘bella armata armonica’ - in the words of Donizetti - which was formed at the Milan Conservatory. 

In the first part, they will perform songs by the composer that range from delicate to melancholic. In the second part, they will perform the cantata Los Cisnes en Palacio (The Swans at the Palace), which tells the story of the unconfirmed but probable love affair between Emilio Arrieta and Queen Isabel II of Bourbon. This piece was commissioned by Fernández Aguirre from Albert García Demestres to mark the 200th anniversary of Arrieta's birth and premiered at the Arriaga Theatre in Bilbao in December 2021. 

Countertenor Álvaro Basco will perform as a LIFE New Artist, accompanied by Fernández Aguirre, interpreting beautiful songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams that maintain the dreamlike spirit of the programme. Dreams of monarchs and commoners, but ultimately, battles and dreams.