 Pablo Etchevers  Jorge González
With its 15,000 inhabitants, Frutillar is located on the shores of Lake Llanquihue, opposite the Osorno Volcano, in the core of the X Region, the Lake District.
This Chilean region is famous for its extraordinary sceneries teeming with lakes, rivers, meadows, native forests, volcanoes, as well as the shores of the Pacific Ocean, which is easily accessed from here.
Lake Llanquihue is the second largest lake in Chile. It lies at the foot of the Osorno Volcano and close to the Puntiagudo, Calbuco and Tronador Volcanoes, which stand on the eastern coast of the lake. Important cities and tourist villages such as Puerto Octay, Llanquihue, Puerto Varas, Ensenada and Frutillar lie on its banks. In the latter, weather and nature create a unique environment where quietness and retreat invite visitors to enjoy music, concerts, events or seminars far from the daily routine. |
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“The Musical Weeks” began to be celebrated there every year since 1968. They consist in a musical gathering of amateur musicians who still summon thousands of Chileans and foreign tourists, as well as extraordinary bands, interpreters and soloists.
At the beginning, catholic and lutheran churches used to shelter audiences who, beyond their religious preferences, would approach these facilities in order to be delighted. The village's Municipal Gym was the venue for this event for several years. Today, a beautiful theater specially designed to present the show will be the new stage. |
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This classical music festival is held every year. Programs include music of all times and styles. There are three shows: one at midday, one in the afternon and one in the evening. The most outstanding local and foreign conductors have performed there, as well as symphonic orchestras, chamber orchestras, choirs and prestigious opera singers, both Chilean and foreign.
Musicians, singers and conductors from countries such as Germany, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Korea, Costa Rica, United States, Japan, France, England, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, Peru, Romania, Russia and Switzerland have participated in these festival and applications to take part in this event increase every year. Almost 400 artists come to present their music during the ten days on which the festival is held.
The majestic theater, whose architecture is a tribute to music and whose structure gets into Lake Llanquihue, is ideal to visit at night. Designed by architects Gerardo Koester and Gustavo Greene, the Theater of the Lake has been specially thought to offer a decent place for the celebration of the future Musical Weeks in Frutillar. It already is and will be one of the most spectacular meeting houses in the Lake District in the next few years. |
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When the calendar marks the end of January and the first days of February, the theater becomes full of light and its reflections upholster the entire surface of the lake. And the show starts. The audience cannot believe it. The musicians know that playing there is not something which may happen every day. The moon escorts the show with its light while the majestic Osorno Volcano beholds in silence this wonderful art mastered by men: music.
The “Musical Weeks” represent a joint task between the Cultural Corporation bearing the same name -founder of the event-, the University of Chile and the Chilean Air Force. They have a direct influence on about 20,000 people who attend the concerts. |
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