Star-studded gala to mark Es Baluard Museum opening

Staff Reporter AS part of the events marking the opening of the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum Es Baluard, an all-star international gala will be shown live on Spanish Television (TVE1 nationwide and TVE Internacional) from 10pm on February 1. The line-up is headed by Spain's top singer Alejandro Sanz, veteran superstar Julio Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, David Bisbal, Chenoa and the mime group Tricicle. Iglesias and Estefan need no introduction to British audiences. David Bisbal and Chenoa, who lived in Majorca before her leap to fame, were the most popular contestants in the first edition of Operación Triunfo, Spanish Television's equivalent to Pop Idol. The gala will be shown live from the Auditorium and has been organised by Spanish Television and the Fundació Es Baluard. Tricicle have been given the task of presenting the new museum to the television audience. Es Baluard, in the part of the Palma city walls known as Baluard de Sant Pere, will be officially opened on January 30 by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia. The Museum is managed by a consortium formed by the Balearic government, the Council of Majorca, the Palma city council and the Fundació d'Art Serra. Many of the works which will be exhibited come from the Col.lecció d'Art Serra, the private collection of Pere A Serra, chairman of the Bulletin's publishing group Grup Serra. The museum will be dedicated to Balearic and Mediterranean art of the 20th and 21st centuries, and it has already been hailed in the British press as a major contribution to the cultural life of the city. The opening exhibition, Es Baluard Year 0, includes an installation by German artist Rebecca Horn, as well as works from the Serra collection and the collections of the other members of the Consortium. Artists represented include Joan Miró, Picasso, Toulouse Lautrec, Magritte, Wilfredo Lam, Betty Gold, Girogio de Chirico, Man Ray, André Masson and Marino Marini. After the opening by the King and Queen, the Museum will have Open Doors days on January 31 and February 1. It will be open to the public from 10am to 8pm Tuesdays to Sundays. editorialUmajorcadailybulletin.es