La Quintina

                              Fortune's Labyrinth                      

                   

Providence guided La Quintina on the path of two Juan's. Both outstanding figures of the 15th century in Spain, both Andalusians, both alchemists in their own way, one of words, the other of sounds. The first, Juan de Mena (1411-56), is the author of the Labyrinth of Fortune, a successful epic and allegorical poem whose original source is kept at the Bnf (Ms. Esp 229). The second, Juan de Triana (1460-94), is a great polyphonist, creators of wonderful counterpoints whose sounds are found today in the famous manuscript of La Colombina (Sevilla: Biblioteca Capitular y Colombina: Ms 57-6-23 ). If the paths of our two rhetoricians converge on many aspects, putting their works into perspective reveals an even more disturbing affinity in that they depict, through different registers, the meanders of human comedy. As observers of the “spectacle of the world”, Juan de Mena and Juan de Triana both evoke past time, the present and the future, use allegory to portray the human condition and abuse of sarcasm to describe broken or glorious destinies of their contemporaries. La Quintina invites you, under the gaze of Lady Fortune, to meet the Spanish society of the 15th century! A show directed by Thierry Péteau and created with the support of  the Casa Voce (Pigna): 5 musicians and an actor.