These days, the International Puppet Center of Tolosa is hosting the rehearsals of this very special production in which the figure of Miguel Joaquín Elizegi (1818-1861), better known as the Giant of Altzo, his hometown, is remembered. He reached 2.42 meters as a result of his illness. It was exhibited in various countries, being received by members of the royal houses of Spain, France and England.

“Altzoko handia” is a children’s opera in Basque in which puppets are used. A children’s choir, soloists and a small instrumental group participate in the performance. The work is based on choral singing and Basque oral narrative. It is an initiative in which San Sebastián 2016, European Capital of Culture and TOPIC participate, with the collaboration of the Teatro Baracaldo.

Notable artists take part in the production. The puppets were designed by Néstor Basterretxea, who thus fulfilled one of his dreams before he died. The manipulation of the puppets is carried out by the company La Enananaranja. The Mexican Emmanuel Márquez oversees the direction and Xabier Lozano of the lighting design. The text of the opera is written by writer Koldo Izagirre and the music has been composed by David Azurza from Tolosa.

The director of TOPIC, Idoya Otegui, describes the production of ‘The Giant of Altzo’ as “a dream come true.” With this project they have achieved “the dream of merging the two cultural activities that we organize at the CIT, the choral competition and the puppet festival. Thanks to the financing and involvement of the cultural capital we have been able to turn this proposal into a reality. Otegui had a special memory for Néstor Basterretxea: «We will never forget his generosity. “He became enthusiastic about this project and went so far as to design the puppets that his children later built”.

Xabier Paya, cultural director of San Sebastián 2016, acknowledges being “in love” with this project “because it is an innovative proposal, which has many outstanding elements, among them, the recovery of cultural heritage, education in values, respect for plurality, or the fusion of different artistic disciplines. Paya highlighted this collaboration of Donostia 2016 with TOPIC “since the Tolosa center is a reference enclave in the world of puppetry”.