Since its very first edition, Proto-fest has been strongly committed to education and training. For this reason, the festival’s general programme includes masterclasses in small groups in bandoneon, violin, viola, chamber music, singing, and choral and orchestral performance.
The teaching staff will include prominent figures such as violist Rivka Golani; bandoneonist and composer Marcelo Mercadante, who has collaborated with artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Miguel Poveda, and Sílvia Pérez Cruz; countertenor and pianist Jordi Domènech, with performances at the Liceu and a strong focus on Baroque repertoire; choir and orchestra conductor Francesc Valldecabres, professor at the Catarroja Professional Conservatory and director of the University Choir of Valencia; as well as training with stage professionals such as Mireia Andreu (stage direction), Rubén Ametllé (acting), and Anna Romaní (Baroque dance).
Once the form is submitted, the organization will contact the students to confirm their participation.
Students will be admitted through CV selection.
From 23 to 27 July
From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Price: €290 (classes) / €390 (classes + accommodation)
Application deadline: 30 May
Following the positive reception of the Proto-fest 2025 edition, this year the festival once again offers an intensive five-day workshop dedicated to the study of arias by Baroque composers. This programme combines musical and stage training with rehearsals of recitatives and arias under the guidance of pianist and singer Jordi Domènech. The performance work will be directed by actor Rubén Ametllé, with staging by Mireia Andreu, stage director and theatre lecturer. The masterclass will also include a Baroque dance workshop led by dancer and choreographer Anna Romaní. Sessions will be accompanied on harpsichord by Josep Mateu.
Jordi Domènech has worked with numerous ensembles specialising in early and Baroque music. He has performed with orchestras such as Orphenica Lyra, Europa Galante, NeoBarock, La Colombina, Early Opera Company, London Baroque and Al Ayre Español, among others. His career has taken him to major European early music and Baroque opera festivals, and he has appeared in international theatres and concert halls such as La Scala in Milan, the Hamburg Staatsoper and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. He is regarded as one of the leading performers in his country specialising in Baroque repertoire.
Practical information:
To take part in this course, each student must choose two Baroque opera arias with their preceding recitative —if any— or alternatively one aria and one duet. The works must be written for string orchestra or continuo alone and must be performed from memory. Based on the repertoire proposed by the students, the course director may suggest adjustments, propose new works and coordinate duet scenes. For any questions regarding repertoire, please contact Jordi Domènech at: info@proto-fest.com
Participation in the masterclass requires a pre-selection process through the submission of a video (3 to 10 minutes in length) and a short CV. This should be sent to: info@proto-fest.com. The organisation will contact applicants to confirm participation.
July 27
From 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
Free entrance
Application deadline: 1 July
This workshop, open to the general public, offers an immersion into the world of Baroque dance, understanding dance as an essential part of the artistic and theatrical thinking of the 17th and 18th centuries. Through movement, musicality, and performance, participants will explore the aesthetic codes, refined gesture, and choreographic structures characteristic of the historical repertoire.
Fundamental aspects such as posture, body control, elegance of gesture, precision of steps, and the organic relationship between music and movement will be addressed, always from a perspective that connects historical practice with contemporary stage sensibility.
Anna Romaní has a solid professional background specializing in early dance and stage creation. Trained and involved in international projects for the recovery and interpretation of historical repertoire, she has developed a career that combines choreographic research with artistic performance on stage. She has worked with ensembles specialized in historical music and dance, and her work has focused on the dissemination and rigorous transmission of Baroque body language, both in educational contexts and in stage productions.
July 28–31
From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Price: €225 (classes) / €325 (classes + accommodation)
Application deadline: 1 July
This masterclass is specially aimed at viola, violin, and chamber music performers who wish to deepen their artistic and technical development and expand their performance experience within a shared working environment. The masterclass will feature Miquel Esquinas as the répétiteur for the course.
The masterclass will be led by Rivka Golani, one of the most renowned and influential violists on the contemporary music scene. Born in Israel and based in London, Golani combines her career as an international performer with an intense teaching activity. She is a professor at the Trinity Laban College of Music and Dance, where she teaches students from all over the world drawn to her demanding, creative, and deeply musical approach.
Her contributions to the development of viola technique have been decisive for the modern evolution of the instrument. Golani has expanded the expressive and technical possibilities of the viola and has established a way of understanding performance that has influenced both performers and contemporary composers. Her work has left a significant mark on the recent history of the instrument and continues to inspire new generations of musicians.
From July 28 to August 1
From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Price: €60
Registration deadline: July 1
This masterclass is designed for both professional and amateur choirs, as well as individual singers. The professor and conductor Francesc Valldecabres will lead this choir and orchestra course, focusing on the Misa Tango —also known as Misa a Buenos Aires— by Martín Palmeri. In this work, the Argentine composer achieves a striking synthesis between the liturgical tradition of the Catholic mass and the expressive language of tango, especially its more modern evolution linked to nuevo tango.
The piece follows the Latin Ordinary of the Mass —Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei— but moves away from a strictly sacred conception, entering a sonic universe full of rhythm, passion, and emotional intensity. Tango, with its syncopations, contrasts, and lyricism, is not used here as a mere decorative element but as a true expressive engine that transforms the meaning of each text. The instrumentation is also revealing: alongside the mixed choir and the mezzo-soprano soloist, there is an instrumental ensemble featuring the bandoneon, an emblematic instrument of Rio de la Plata tango.
Francesc Valldecabres has an extensive career as a conductor across the Valencian Community and throughout Europe. He has served as musical director for stage productions, coordinated programming for concert series and festivals in various parts of Spain, and recorded around fifteen albums dedicated to Valencian musical heritage. He currently conducts Música Trobada and the University Choir of Valencia, and teaches at the Catarroja Professional Conservatory, where he also carries out pedagogical and research work in the choral field.
From 30 July to 1 August
From 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Price: €60
Registration deadline: July 1
Professor Marcelo Mercadante will work on the orchestral bandoneon part of Misa Tango —also known as Misa a Buenos Aires— by Martín Palmeri. This work offers a striking synthesis between the liturgical tradition of the Catholic Mass and the expressive language of tango, particularly in its more modern evolution linked to nuevo tango.
Marcelo Mercadante is a bandoneon player and composer. Trained in Buenos Aires and Paris, he is currently based in Barcelona, where he has developed various musical projects and released twelve albums. He has collaborated with artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Miguel Poveda, Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Joaquín Sabina, among others. He also maintains an active teaching practice in the south of France.
