Cristina Maniglia Perasso
(Francis)
Scene Director, Actress, Lyric Singer and Dancer. Lighting Designer and Opera Stage Manager
She was Head of Sopranos of the National Choir of Spain and student Assistant Director of Horacio Rodríguez Aragón and Rafael Perez Sierra with whom she made her first operatic productions. She also studied and worked with Francisco Fontanals in Lighting Design including successive work trips to the Rank Strand Electric facilities in London. In the early years of her career, she combined acting as a singer and assistant director in the Zarzuela Opera Season, collaborating on the premiere of Selene, by Tomás Marco, Pagliacci, Suor Angélica, Turandot, Carmen, Lucía de Lammermoor, etc.
Then she began her career in the musical theater in Spain as Assistant and Director with the premiere of the Musical Comedy “Aplausos” (directed by Otto Prichner), as Lighting Designer for “Jesus Christ Superstar”, as Lighting and Production Assistant in Las Palmas Opera Festival directed by Tito Capobianco, and collaborated on productions of the María Guerrero Theater, Spanish Theater, Festivals of Spain, Festival of Classical Theater of Almagro, etc.
She also became part of the Teatro Estable Castellano directed by Miguel Narros, William Layton and José Carlos Plaza. Later on, she worked at the National Dramatic Center whose directors were, Nuria Espert, Ramón Tamayo and José Luis Gómez. She was Deputy and Illuminating Director of the National Theater Company for Children, “Ceninat” that was lead by José María Morera and worked with Adolfo Marsillach, Francisco Nieva, Jaime Azpilicueta, Josefina Molina, José Luis Alonso, Angel Facio, José Luis Alonso de Santos, etc. She premiered in Madrid as Scene Director and Choreographer for the musical comedy, “Abracadabra 40” and subsequently continued to combine Lighting with Direction in productions of both Opera and Zarzuela, Prose Theatre and Musical Comedy.
As a trainer, she created three companies including young singers and actors and carried out the Project for the School of Performing Arts of the city of Plasencia, in addition to directing in that city, several opera productions, musical comedy, and musical galas.
In recent years she has worked at the Teatro Real de Madrid for Scenic Mechanics and Registry sections. In 2008 she directed an operatic show based on the myth of Orpheus and in 2010 she became Deputy Director and Illuminator for the production of Miguel Ángel Coque of “The Flying Dutchman” for the Perez Galdós Theater in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
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For the past decade, she has resided in Gandía and there she combines Scenic Direction, Technical Direction, Lighting and as Actors Coach in addition to continuing with the acting classes for young people and members of local theater groups giving special support to the Performing Arts Workshop “ESPAI D'ART Asmisaf”, created by Alicia Mir and composed entirely by actors and actresses with different abilities, building a successful career for seventeen years.
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In 2019, she joined the new group “Quadern d’Assajos Teatre” directed by the renowned playwright and stage director Pere Huerta and with whom she collaborates as Illuminator.