Violetta

*\*Not to be confused with Violetta Castillo, the main character from the TV Show.*

***Violetta***is an Argentine telenovela filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina and developed by Disney Channel Latin America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and production company Pol-ka, debuted in its country of origin, Latin America and Italy on May 14, 2012.

Violetta tells the story of a musically talented teenager (played by Argentine actress Martina Stoessel) who returns to her native Buenos Aires with her father, Herman, (played by Diego Ramos) after living in Europe for several years, navigating the trials and tribulations of growing up.

Each episode includes original musical numbers from diverse musical genres such as pop musicand popular music.

## Production

   Following the success of Disney Channel retransmission of Argentine telenovelas such as *Floricienta* and *Patito Feo* and the positive results at competitor Nickelodeon initiative in co-producing Latin-American novelas, Disney decided to begin production on its first original telenovela. The show was to be produced in Argentina in collaboration with local production company Pol-Ka. The cast was formed by actors from across Latin America, Brazil, Spain and Italy.

Shooting began in September 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and lasted for seven months. The series was co-produced by Disney Channel Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa. The series was filmed entirely in high definition at the Central Park Studios in Buenos Aires. On December 31, 2011, Disney Channel Latin America broadcast a New Year's television special entitled*Celebratón*, where Martina Stoessel performed the song *Tu Resplandor* (Disney Princesses). Disney Channel announced that the series would premiere in 2012. The cast was first introduced on December 22, 2011. In March 2012, promos and adverts started airing.

In early April 2012, a music video for "En Mi Mundo", sung by Martina Stoessel, was uploaded to Disney Channel Latin America website. Violetta finally premiered in Latin America and Italy on May 14, 2012. The cast visited Mexico City and Bogota and sung live on a Radio Disney event at Luna Park in Buenos Aires. On October 25, the last episode of the first season was aired. Between September and October, the show had its premiere in Brazil, France, Israel and Spain.

In November 1, 2012, shootings for the second season began. The second season started in Latin America in April and in Spain and Italy in May. The complete cast visited Paris, Milan and Madrid for promotion at the end of June. The final scenes from the second season were shot in Spain.

Among the products spawned from the shows are an official magazine (available in Latin America, Italy and Spain), sticker album (available in France, Latin America, Italy and Spain), a series of books (available in Latin America, France, Spain and Italy) and trading cards (available in Italy and Argentina). DVDs were also released in Italy and Spain. There's also a soundtrack album featuring the music from the show. The album has achieved 3x Platinum in Argentina, Platinum in Spain and Gold Certification in Chile and Brazil.

In June, 2013, after three months of rehearsal, the musical with the complete cast made its debut at Teatro Gran Rex. Following the Cris Morena model, the cast played concerts daily during the Winter Vacation. Prior to the debut, all 60 presentations were already sold out with over 200.000 tickets sold. After the season in Buenos Aires, the cast will tour across Argentina, Latin America and Europe. Besides the 60 concerts in Buenos Aires, the cast will also tour the rest of Argentina.

In October 2013, Diego Ramos announced a third season. Production began in March 2014 for a July 28, 2014 premiere. This will be the last season.

### **Casting**

Martina Stoessel was chosen by casting. The actor Diego Ramos was instead cast as the Violetta's father by proposal and following an audition, sent to Europe, has been confirmed. The actress Lodovica Comello, who plays Francesca, was attending school in Milan and the director of it he said that some people would come to provinare some students and she decided to participate. Instead the actor Ruggero Pasquarelli was chosen by proposal. For the second season castings were also held at the request of fans of the series in Milan, Naples and Rome.

It has been confirmed that most of the cast of the first season, except for the actors Rodrigo Velilla, Artur Logunov and lead actor Pablo Espinosa will return for the second season. It was also announced the inclusion of new characters played by Diego Domínguez who will play the new rival of León, Diego, and then actors like Valeria Baroni, Xabiani Ponce De León, Paloma Sirvén, Gerardo Velázquez, Carla Pandolfi and Valentina Frione. Bridgit Mendler made a cameo appearance in the second season.

For the third season there will be new characters played by Damien Lauretta, Macarena Miguel, Rodrigo Frampton, Florencia Ortiz and Nacho Gadano. The American pop rock band R5 made an appearance during an episode in the third season, playing their single Heart Made Up on You.