For Paco Peña, flamenco begins and ends with truth.

“There is always that deep, truthful cry in the music,” he says. “Even if life is much better now than it used to be, that emotional core cannot be forgotten.”

It’s a principle that has guided Peña across more than five decades on the world stage, and one that remains at the heart of the program he is bringing to Australia in April. Designed as both an introduction and a distillation, the concert strips flamenco back to its essential components: the singer, the guitarist, the dancer.

“This show is about presenting the possibilities of flamenco,” he explains. “Music, song and dance – each element clearly defined. I like that very much – the giving of space to each aspect of the art form.”

“What I like,” he adds, “is that the audience sees the group together, but also as individuals. The singer, the guitar player, the dancer; they each have a chance to say, ‘this is what I am’.”

Paco Peña at the Brisbane Festival, 2024. Photo supplied

That melding of identity and purpose is vital to Peña. In recent decades, flamenco has travelled widely...