The Vespra thrills the crowd and defies the heat on the first big day of the Misteri d'Elx.

The first of the traditional performances of the Misteri d'Elx, the first act or Vespra, was experienced last night "with intensity, emotion, and faith," in an event with free access to the Basilica of Santa María. The audience filled the church and occupied "any gap from which the performance could be followed, many of them sheltered from the sun and the heat (intense and inevitable at this time of year) under the new awning installed on the main door, replacing the previous one, which had deteriorated over time," the board of trustees said in a statement.

The same assertion states that the participating singers have maintained the high level of the dress rehearsals and have demonstrated the intense preparation and improvement work that Mestre, Javier Gonzálvez, carries out with the Capella and the Escolanía, as the institution has emphasized.

A new awning has protected spectators from the high temperatures on a particularly hot day.

In the children's roles, Álvaro García and newcomer Eric Navas played the roles of Maria Major and the Angel, respectively, while for the adults, Juan José Hernández and Reverend Fernando Brotons played Saint John and Saint Peter. José Manuel Guinot, José Guilabert, and Vicente Cremades brought Ternari to life.

In the Araceli, Pau Esteve, Miguel Diciena, Luis Maestre, Luis Antón Latour, and the Reverend Ramón Belda performed. The only debut this afternoon was in the Apostolado, that of Iván López as a baritone. Sixteen children's and adult singers made their debut in these performances. Among the guests who followed the Vespra this afternoon from the gallery of the Patronage was Juan Melchor Seguí Sarrió, rector of the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of the Forsaken in Valencia.

The August cycle of the Misteri d'Elx of this Jubilee Year will conclude this Friday at six in the evening with the performance of the second act, or Festa, which culminates in the coronation of the Virgin of the Assumption. Access to the church will once again be free. Previously, this morning, the Burial Procession of the Virgin of God will take place, beginning and ending at Santa María.