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The Gran Teatre del Liceu (; ; ), or simply Liceu, is a theater in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Spain. Situated on La Rambla, it is the city's oldest theater building still in use for its original purpose. Founded in 1837 at another location, the Liceu opened at its current address on 4 April 1847. The theater was rebuilt after fires in 1861 and 1994, and reopened on 20 April 1862 and 7 October 1999. On 7 November 1893, on the opening night of the season, an anarchist threw two bombs into the stalls. About twenty people were killed, and many more were injured. Between 1847 and 1989, the 2,338-seat Liceu was the largest opera house in Europe by capacity. Since 1994, the Liceu has been owned and managed by a public foundation whose board of trustees represents the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...
, the
Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...
, the
Provincial Deputation of Barcelona The Provincial Deputation of Barcelona (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Diputació de Barcelona''; Spanish: ''Diputación de Barcelona'') is the Local government in Spain, local government body charged with the government and administration of the pro ...
and the
City Council of Barcelona The City Council of Barcelona (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ajuntament de Barcelona''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ayuntamiento de Barcelona'') is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the Barcelona, municipality of Barcelona, Catal ...
. The theater has its own choir (the Cor del Gran Teatre del Liceu), symphony orchestra (the Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu) and college of music (the
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu () is a music college in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was created in 1837 with the name ''Liceo Filo-dramático de Montesión''. In 1847 the institution inaugurated the opera house Gran Teatre del Li ...
).


History


Origins (1837–1847)

In 1837, the Liceo Filodramático de Montesión (Philodramatic Lyceum of Montesión, now named Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu) was founded in Barcelona to promote musical education (hence the name "Liceo", or
lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...
.) It organized opera productions performed by Liceo students. A theater (Teatro de Montesión, or Teatro del Liceo de Montesión) was founded in a convent building, and plays and operas were performed. The first performance was Vicenzo Bellini's ''
Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...
'', on 3 February 1838. The repertoire was Italian, the most-performed composers were
Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...
, Mercadante, Bellini and
Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
. The Barcelona premiere of Hérold's ''
Zampa ''Zampa'','' ou La fiancée de marbre'' (''Zampa, or the Marble Bride'') is an opéra comique in three acts by French composer Ferdinand Hérold, with a libretto by Mélesville. The overture to the opera is one of Hérold's most famous works an ...
'' was held here. In 1838, the society changed its name to Liceo Dramático Filarmónico de S. M. la Reina Isabel II (Dramatic Philharmonic Lyceum of H.M. Queen Isabel II). Lack of space and pressure from the nuns who formerly owned the convent and had the right to return motivated the Liceu to leave its location in 1844. The last performance there was on 8 September of that year. The Trinitarian convent building in Barcelona's central La Rambla was purchased, and the Liceu's managers entrusted Joaquim de Gispert d'Anglí with construction of a new building. Two societies were created: a "building society" and an "auxiliary building society." Shareholders of the building society obtained the permanent right of use of some theater boxes and seats in exchange for their economic contributions. Auxiliary-building-society shareholders contributed the rest of the money necessary in exchange for rights to other spaces in the building, including some shops and the private Círculo del Liceo club. Unlike other European cities where the monarchy was responsible for the building and upkeep of opera houses, the Liceu was funded by private shareholders of what would become the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu (Great Liceu Theater Society, organized similarly to a trading company or ''societat''). This is reflected in the building's architecture; there is no royal box. Since the queen did not contribute to construction, the society's name was changed to Liceo Filarmónico Dramático. With
Miquel Garriga i Roca Miquel may refer to: * the Catalan form of the given name Michael * Beate von Miquel (born 1968), German academic and women's rights advocate * Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (1811–1871), a Dutch botanist * Gérard Miquel (born 1946), a member o ...
as the architect, construction began on 11 April 1845. The theater was opened on 4 April 1847.


Opening, fire and rebuilding (1847–1862)

The opening presented a mixed program which included the
premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...
s of a José Melchior Gomis musical
ouverture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were ...
, the historical play ''Don Fernando de Antequera'' by Ventura de la Vega, the ballet ''La Rondeña'' (''The Girl From Ronda'') by Josep Jurch, and the
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
''Il regio himene'' with music by Liceu musical director
Marià Obiols Marià Obiols (26 November 1809 – 10 December 1888), also known as Mariano Obiols, was a Catalan composer, conductor, and professor of music. He served as the music director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona from its founding in 1847 ...
. The first complete opera, Donizetti's ''
Anna Bolena ''Anna Bolena'' is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's ''Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena'' and Alessandro Pepoli's ''Anna Bolena'', ...
,'' was presented on 17 April 1847. Liceu was the biggest opera house in Europe, with 3,500 seats. Other operas performed during the first year were (in chronological order) ''
I due Foscari ' (''The Two Foscari'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1821 historical play, ''The Two Foscari (Byron), The Two Foscari'' by Lord Byron. After his success with ''Ernani'', ...
'' (Verdi), ''Il bravo'' (Mercadante), ''Parisina d'Este'' (Donizetti), ''
Giovanna d'Arco ''Giovanna d'Arco'' (''Joan of Arc'') is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, who had prepared the libretti for ''Nabucco'' and ''I Lombardi''. It is Verd ...
'' (Verdi), ''Leonora'' (Mercadante), ''
Ernani ''Ernani'' is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play ''Hernani (drama), Hernani'' by Victor Hugo. Verdi was commissioned by the Teatro La Fenice in Ve ...
'' (Verdi), ''Norma'' (Bellini), ''
Linda di Chamounix ''Linda di Chamounix'' is an operatic '' melodramma semiserio'' in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on 19 May 1842. Performance history ' ...
'' (Donizetti) and ''
Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy '' ...
'' (Rossini). The building was severely damaged by fire on 9 April 1861, but was rebuilt with a design by architect Josep Oriol Mestres and re-opened on 20 April 1862 with a performance of Bellini's ''
I puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and changed to three acts before the premiere on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set ...
''. Of the old building, only the facade, the entrance hall and the
foyer A lobby is a room in a building used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer, entryway, reception area or entrance hall, it is often a large room or complex of rooms (in a theatre, opera house, concert hall, showroom, cine ...
(Hall of Mirrors) remained.


Bombing and civil war (1862–1940)

On 7 November 1893, during the season's opening night and the second act of Rossin's opera ''Guillaume Tell'', two
Orsini bomb The Orsini bomb was a terrorism, terrorist improvised explosive device built by and named after Felice Orsini and used as a Grenade, hand grenade on 14 January 1858 in Orsini affair, an unsuccessful attack on Napoleon III. The weapons were som ...
s were thrown into the Liceu's stalls. Although only one of the bombs exploded, about twenty people were killed and many more were injured. The attack by
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...
Santiago Salvador shocked Barcelona, and became symbolic of the era's social unrest. The Liceu re-opened its doors on 18 January 1894, but the seats occupied by those killed were not used for a number of years. The second bomb was displayed at the Van Gogh Museum in 2007, during the exhibition "Barcelona around 1900". In 1909, the auditorium was renovated. Spanish neutrality during World War I allowed the Catalan textile industry to amass enormous wealth by supplying the warring parties. The 1920s were prosperous; the Liceu became established, welcoming leading singers, conductors and companies such as
Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario an ...
's
Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...
. When the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
was proclaimed in 1931, political instability triggered a financial crisis for the Liceu which was overcome with subsidies from the Barcelona City Council and the regional
Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...
government. The theater was
nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...
during the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
and was renamed Teatre del Liceu – Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (Liceu Opera House – the National Theater of Catalonia); its opera seasons were suspended. After the civil war, in 1939, the Liceu was returned to its original owners.


"Silver Age" and crisis (1940–1980)

From 1940 to the 1960s, the seasons were high-quality. In 1955 the
Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...
Company visited. They performed ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...
'', ''
Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...
'' and ''
Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86B, is the second of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was ...
'', with innovative sets by
Wieland Wagner Wieland Wagner (5 January 1917 – 17 October 1966) was a German opera director, and grandson of Richard Wagner. As co-director of the Bayreuth Festival when it re-opened after World War II, he was noted for innovative new stagings of the musica ...
and were enthusiastically received. An economic crisis affected the theater during the 1970s; the privately-based organization could not afford the increasing cost of modern opera productions, and overall quality declined.


New direction and second fire (1980–1994)

The death of in 1980 revealed the need for the intervention of official bodies if the Liceu was to remain a leading opera house. In 1981, the
Generalitat de Catalunya The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...
, Barcelona's City Council and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu created the Consorci del Gran Teatre del Liceu (Consortium of the Great Liceu Theater) responsible for the theater's management. The
Provincial Deputation of Barcelona The Provincial Deputation of Barcelona (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Diputació de Barcelona''; Spanish: ''Diputación de Barcelona'') is the Local government in Spain, local government body charged with the government and administration of the pro ...
and the Spanish Ministry of Culture joined the consortium in 1985 and 1986, respectively. The consortium attracted the public back to the Liceu quickly with improvements in its artistic standard. This included a more complete and up-to-date perspective of the nature of an opera performance, improvements to the choir and orchestra, careful casting, and attracting public interest to aspects of productions other than the leading roles. This approach, coupled with new economic support and a more-discerning public, resulted in quality productions. The consortium maintained high standards in casting, production and public loyalty (measured by attendance) until a 31 January 1994 fire which destroyed the building, caused by a spark that fell on the curtain during a routine repair during the run of
Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...
's ''
Mathis der Maler ''Mathis der Maler'' (''Matthias the Painter'' is an opera by Paul Hindemith. The work's protagonist, Matthias Grünewald, was a historical figure who flourished during the Reformation, and whose art, in particular the Isenheim Altarpiece, inspi ...
.'' The following opera was scheduled to be
Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...
's ''
Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...
''. Public and institutional response was unanimous on the need to rebuild the opera house on the same site with improved facilities. The new Liceu is the result of efforts to preserve parts of the building unaffected by the fire which had also survived the 1861 fire. The auditorium was rebuilt with the same layout, with new the roof paintings by
Perejaume Pere Jaume Borrell i Guinart, known as Perejaume, (born in 1957 in Sant Pol de Mar, Catalonia) is a Spaniards, Spanish contemporary artist. Of self-taught formation he takes clear influences of authors like Joan Brossa, with whom he will shar ...
and state-of-the-art stage technology. The theater became public to rebuild and improve it. The Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu (Great Liceu Theater Foundation) was created, and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu handed over ownership of the building to the foundation. Some stakeholders disagreed with the decision, which was unsuccessfully challenged in court.


Reopening (1994–present)

From 1994 until the Liceu's reopening in 1999, Barcelona's opera seasons were performed in the
Palau Sant Jordi Palau Sant Jordi (, ) is an indoor arena, indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Anella Olímpica, Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, i ...
arena (some large-scale performances in 1994),
Palau de la Música Catalana Palau de la Música Catalana (, ) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan ''modernisme, modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for Orfeó Català, a ...
, and Teatre Victòria. The rebuilt, improved and expanded theater opened on 7 October 1999 with
Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...
's ''
Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...
'', the next opera in the season at the time of the 1994 fire. The new venue had the same traditional horseshoe-shaped auditorium, with improved technical, rehearsal, office and educational facilities, a new rehearsal hall, a new chamber-opera and small-performance hall, and more public space. The architects for the rebuilding were Ignasi de Solà-Morales and Xavier Fabré i Lluís Dilmé.
Surtitles Surtitles, also known as supertitles, Captitles, SurCaps, OpTrans, are translated or transcribed lyrics/dialogue projected above a stage or displayed on a screen, commonly used in opera, theatre or other musical performances. The word "surtitle" ...
, projected onto a screen above the proscenium, are used for all opera performances and some
lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...
er concerts. An
electronic libretto An electronic libretto system is used primarily in opera houses and is a device which presents translations of lyrics into an audience's language or transcribes lyrics that may be difficult to understand when sung. Since 1983, projected '' super ...
system provides translations (into English, Spanish or Catalan) on small, individual monitors for most seats. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in 2020, the Liceu marked Spain's lockdown end with a performance for an audience of 2,292 house plants which was livestreamed on social media. Each plant was then donated to healthcare workers at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona.


Building

The theater is in La Rambla, in downtown Barcelona. It has two facades, since the other two sides were surrounded until 1994 by residential buildings. Some parts of the earlier building remain: * The main façade in La Rambla (1847) * The hall and the staircase (1861), with a Vallmitjana statue of Music (1901) * The romantically-ornamental foyer (Saló de Miralls, or Hall of Mirrors, 1847), with paintings of musicians, singers and dancers from the era of
Pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...
, Rubini,
Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...
, Bellini,
Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...
, and
Marie Taglioni Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in t ...
. It was partially redecorated in 1877 by Elies Rogent, and the roof painting of the
Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...
dates to this period. The auditorium was rebuilt after the 1994 fire as an improved recreation of the 1861 auditorium. It has a seating capacity of 2,292 (making the Liceu one of Europe's largest opera houses), and is a typical Italian horseshoe-shaped theater with a maximum length and width of . The auditorium has a ''platea'' (main floor) and five balconies. Boxes with small rooms attached are in front of the stage, on the ''platea'' and in some galleries. There are no significant physical divisions between boxes; a low screen separates one box from another. There are no columns in the theater except inside the ''platea'', making the balconies look like a golden horseshoe without visual interruptions. The ''amfiteatre ubicare'' is a projection of the first balcony with a less-pronounced horseshoe shape accommodating three rows of seats, considered the best in the theater. Building expenses were covered by the sale of boxes and seats. Boxes were lavishly decorated by their owners, but they were destroyed in the 1994 fire. The
proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
reproduces the old one, which was rebuilt in 1909. It has a large central arch with two Corinthian columns on both sides and, among the columns, four tiers of boxes. These wider, more-luxurious boxes are known as ''banyeres'' ("bathtubs"). The auditorium ornamentation reproduces that of 1909: sumptuous, with the golden and
polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...
plaster moldings usual in 19th-century European theaters. Its brass lamps have glass in the shape of a drake. The stalls, on the main floor, are made of strained iron and red velvet. Modern features were introduced in the reconstruction. The eight circular paintings in the roof and the three in the proscenium, lost in the fire, have been re-created by the contemporary artist
Perejaume Pere Jaume Borrell i Guinart, known as Perejaume, (born in 1957 in Sant Pol de Mar, Catalonia) is a Spaniards, Spanish contemporary artist. Of self-taught formation he takes clear influences of authors like Joan Brossa, with whom he will shar ...
. The stage curtain is by Catalan designer . The new hemispheric lamp in the center of the roof is a platform for technical facilities (lighting, sound and computer). Other technical facilities are control and projecting cabins in some balconies, a "technical floor" over the roof, and high-tech equipment to record and broadcast performances. With computerized cameras, the auditorium can also be used for live or recorded televised performances. Stage facilities are modern, allowing quick scene changes and the simultaneous use of four different sets. A new foyer was built under the main auditorium for the main bar and restaurant and for concerts, small-format performances, lectures, cultural activities, and meetings. The Liceu station of the Barcelona Metro line 3 is adjacent to the theater.


Artistic history


Performed works

The Liceu is a receiving and
producing house Producer(s), The Producer(s), or co-producer(s) may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *Producer, a stakeholder of economic production * Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes ...
, with two or three new productions staged each year. Its company consists of a permanent orchestra and choir and singers for supporting roles. Leading roles are usually sung by guest singers.
Stagecraft Stagecraft is a technical aspect of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes constructing and rigging scenery; hanging and focusing of lighting; design and procurement of costumes; make-up; stage management; audio engineering; ...
is produced internally by the theater (alone or with other opera houses) and rented from other houses. Until the 1990s, the Liceu also had a ballet company. Most of the operas performed are from 19th-century Italy and Germany:
Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...
,
Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
, ''
bel canto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...
'' composers and, more recently,
Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...
,
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
and
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
. The history of Liceu premieres illustrates the evolution of European operatic tastes. Opera was only a part of its artistic activities at first, alternating with ''
zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...
'' (Spanish
light opera Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a ne ...
),
romantic ballet The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Théâtre de l'Acadé ...
(''
Giselle ''Giselle'' ( , ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (; ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet () in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first perfor ...
'' had its first Barcelona performance in 1847), theatrical performances, and magic shows. The first operas performed, Donizetti's ''
Anna Bolena ''Anna Bolena'' is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's ''Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena'' and Alessandro Pepoli's ''Anna Bolena'', ...
'' and Verdi's ''
I due Foscari ' (''The Two Foscari'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1821 historical play, ''The Two Foscari (Byron), The Two Foscari'' by Lord Byron. After his success with ''Ernani'', ...
'', are emblematic of the taste for ''bel canto'' and Italian romantic melodrama:
Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...
, Donizetti, Bellini, and Verdi. They are still in the repertory, and Verdi is the most-performed composer. The first operas by non-Italian composers which were put on at the Liceu were
Ferdinand Hérold Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold (28 January 1791 – 19 January 1833), better known as Ferdinand Hérold (), was a French composer. He was celebrated in his lifetime for his operas, of which he composed more than twenty, but he also wrote ballet mus ...
's ''Zampa'' (1848),
Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
's ''
Der Freischütz ' (Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns, J. 277, Opus number, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Johann Fried ...
'' (1849), Giacomo
Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Ro ...
's ''Robert le diable'', Auber's ''La muette de Portici'' (1852) and ''Fra Diavolo'' (1853). These were sung in Italian, the custom at the time. The first performances of '' Il trovatore'' (1854) and '' La traviata'' (1855) led to the crowning of
Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
as the king of opera. In 1866, Mozart's ''Don Giovanni'' was staged at the Liceu for the first time. In 1883,
Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's ''
Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...
'' was first performed. From the 1880s to the 1950s, Wagner was one of the most beloved and highly-regarded composers at the Liceu. It staged the first performance of ''
Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...
'' outside
Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...
on 31 December 1913, after the Bayreuth monopoly ended, with Francesc Viñas in the title role and conducted by Franz Beidler. In 1955, the
Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...
company visited the theater and performed three operas. ''
Verismo In opera, , from , meaning 'true', was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an operatic ge ...
'', especially Puccini, is a late-19th-century tradition. The first Russian opera was staged in 1915 with great success, and
Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...
, Rimsky-Korsakov and
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...
were often performed. Early in the 20th century,
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
conducted his works.
Siegfried Wagner Siegfried Helferich Richard Wagner (6 June 18694 August 1930) was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner. He was an opera composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival from 1908 to 1930. Life Siegfried Wagner ...
conducted a concert in 1904, followed a year later by
Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...
. In 1915,
impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...
Mestres Calvet broadened the repertory and introduced composers such as de Falla and
Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
. It was a golden age for Russian and German operas, which were now sung in their original language. Mestres also was associated, beginning in 1917, with the success of
Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario a ...
's ballets with
Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav or Vatslav Nijinsky (12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish ancestry. He is regarded as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century. Nijinsky was celebrated for his virtuosity and f ...
,
Léonide Massine Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the world's first symphonic ballet, ''Les Présages'', and ...
, Lydia Lopokova, Chernicheva and other dancers. Years later,
Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...
also performed at the Liceu. In 1947, the directing company came into the hands of Arquer and Pàmias. In contrast with the preceding years, which had been marked by programming of the great repertory works, the first season of the new directorship renewed the repertoire with the first performances in Barcelona of about 100 works by a number of composers. Revivals featured Donizetti's ''
Anna Bolena ''Anna Bolena'' is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's ''Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena'' and Alessandro Pepoli's ''Anna Bolena'', ...
'', which had first been staged at the Liceu one hundred years earlier. For 33 years, Pàmias led Liceu activity when it seemed impossible to maintain the opera house without official aid. The Liceu's repertory has included the world's most-performed titles since the 1950s, including nearly all the great 20th-century composers (Bartók, Honegger, Gershwin, Berg, Janáček, Weill, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Britten, Schönberg, and Hindemith) and the
baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
and classical composers
Monteverdi Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi (baptized 15 May 1567 – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, choirmaster and string player. A composer of both secular and sacred music, and a pioneer in the development of opera, he is considere ...
,
Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
and
Gluck Christoph Willibald ( Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire at ...
. Ballet remains an important part of the theater's activities, with performances by some of the world's best-known companies (including the Béjart Ballet).


Most-performed operas

The Liceu's most-performed operas by January 2009 were: * Verdi's ''
Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...
'', with 442 performances from 1877 to 2008 * Verdi's ''
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...
'', with 359 performances from 1853 to 2005 * Gounod's ''
Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
'', with 297 performances from 1864 to 1988 * Donizetti's ''
Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...
'', with 274 performances from 1849 to 2007 * Donizetti's ''
La favorita ''La favorite'' (''The Favourite'', frequently referred to by its Italian title: ''La favorita'') is a grand opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play ''Le com ...
'', with 263 performances from 1850 to 2002 (the last 10 performances were the French version) * Verdi's '' Il trovatore'', with 259 performances from 1854 to 1993 * Wagner's ''
Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...
'', with 241 performances from 1883 to 2006 * Puccini's ''
La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
'', with 238 performances from 1898 to 2001 * Rossini's ''
Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy '' ...
'', with 233 performances from 1847 to 1991 * Verdi's '' La traviata'', with 231 performances from 1855 to 2002 * Meyerbeer's ''
Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps, it premiered in Paris on 29 February 1836. Composition history '' ...
'', with 228 performances from 1856 to 1971 (mostly the Italian version) * Bizet's ''
Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
'', with 205 performances from 1888 to 1993 * Boito's ''
Mefistofele ''Mefistofele'' () is an opera in a prologue and five acts, later reduced to four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera with music by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito (there are several completed operas for which he was lib ...
'', with 195 performances from 1880 to 1988 * Meyerbeer's ''
L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1837 five-act French ''grand opéra'' by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe. By 1852, the plot had been revised to depict fictional events in the life of Portuguese explorer Vasco da ...
'', with 191 performances from 1866 to 1977 (mostly the Italian version) * Wagner's ''
Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis, WWV 86B, is the second of the four epic poetry, epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Literary cycle, cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was ...
'', with 182 performances from 1899 to 2008


Premieres

The Liceu has premiered a number of theatrical and musical works, including: * 1847 (4 April): Ventura de la Vega's history play ''Don Fernando de Antequera'' * 1851 (June): ''El granuja'', a ''zarzuela'' with music by N. Gardyn * 1853 (8 January):
Temistocle Solera Temistocle Solera (25 December 1815 – 21 April 1878) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Life and career He was born in Ferrara. He received his education at the Imperial College in Vienna and at the University of Pavia. Throughou ...
's Spanish opera ''La hermana de Pelayo''; ''La tapada del retiro'', Nicolau Manent's ''zarzuela''; ''Sueño y realidad'', a ''zarzuela'' with music by Felipe Pedrell * 1854 (16 February): J. Freixas' opera, ''La figlia del deserto'' * 1857 (23 May): Nicolau Manent's opera, ''Gualtero di Monsonís'' * 1858 Pujadas' Catalan ''zarzuela'' ''Setze jutges'' (''Sixteen judges''), the first Catalan-language play performed at the Liceu * 1858 ''Juan Garín, o, Las peñas de Montserrat'', with music by Mariano Soriano Fuertes, Nicolau Manent and Francisco Porcell * 1859 (12 May): Nicolau Guanyabéns' opera, ''Arnaldo d'Erill'' * 1859 Josep Anselm Clavé's Catalan ''zarzuela'' ''L'aplec del Remei'' * 1867 (23 March): Francesc Sánchez Gavagnach's opera ''Rahabba''. * 1874 (28 January): Marià Obiols' opera, ''Editta di Belcourt'' * 1874 (14 April): Felipe Pedrell's opera, ''L'ultimo Abenzerraggio'' * 1878 (27 November): Salvatore Auteri-Manzocchi's opera, ''Il negriero'' * 1885 (6 June): Manuel Giró's opera, ''Il rinnegato Alonso García'' * 1885 (12 June): Antoni Baratta's opera ''Lo desengany'', the first Catalan-language opera performed at the Liceu * 1889 (10 July): Francesc Sánchez Gavagnach's opera, ''La messagiera'' * 1892 (14 May):
Tomás Bretón Tomás Bretón y Hernández (29 December 1850 – 2 December 1923) was a Spanish Conducting, conductor and composer. Biography Tomás Bretón was born in Salamanca. He completed his musical studies at the School of Fine Arts in his hometown, w ...
's opera, ''Garín'' * 1895 (8 May):
Isaac Albéniz Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the post-romantic era who also had a significant influence on his con ...
's opera, ''Henry Clifford'' * 1896 (5 January):
Isaac Albéniz Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the post-romantic era who also had a significant influence on his con ...
's opera, ''Pepita Jiménez'' * 1902 (4 January): Felipe Pedrell's
grand opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...
, '' Els Pirineus'' * 1903 (3 December): Joan Manén's opera, ''Acté'' * 1906 (20 January): Enric Morera's opera, ''Empòrium'' * 1906 (21 April): Enric Morera's opera, ''Bruniselda'' * 1907 (21 January):
Joan Lamote de Grignon Joan Lamote de Grignon i Bocquet (; 7 July 1872 – 11 March 1949) was a Catalan Spanish pianist, composer and orchestra director. Life Joan Lamote de Grignon was born and died in Barcelona, the son of parents of French descent, Lluis Lamote d ...
's opera, ''Hesperia'' * 1912 (17 January): Enric Morera's ''Titaina'', with libretto by
Àngel Guimerà Àngel Guimerà i Jorge (; 6 May 1845 or 6 May 1847 or 1849 – 18 July 1924), usually known simply as Àngel Guimerà, was a Catalan Spanish playwright and poet. His work is known for bringing together under romantic aspects the main elemen ...
* 1913 (15 January): Jaume Pahissa's first opera ''Gal·la Placídia''. * 1913 Jesús Guridi's opera, ''Mirentxu'' (premiered as a ''zarzuela'' in 1910 in
Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
, and revised as an opera by the author) * 1916 (18 January): Enric Morera's opera, ''Tassarba'' * 1919 (15 February): Jaume Pahissa's opera, ''La morisca'' * 1920 (24 January): Joaquim Cassadó's ''Lo monjo negre'' * 1923 (31 March): Jaume Pahissa's ''Marianela'' * 1924 (20 December): A. Marqués' opera, ''Sor Beatriu'' * 1927 (12 January): Facundo de la Viña's opera, ''La espigadora'' * 1928 (28 February): Jaume Pahissa's ''La princesa Margarida'' * 1929 (12 February): Ricard Lamote de Grignon's ballet, ''Somnis'' * 1929 (14 December): Jose Maria Usandizaga's opera, ''Las golondrinas'' (premiered as a ''zarzuela'' in 1914, and revised as an opera by Ramón Usandizaga) * 1932 (3 March): Joan Manén's opera, ''Neró i Acté'' * 1935 (15 January): Joan Gaig's opera, ''El estudiante de Salamanca'' * 1938 Salvador Bacarisse's ballet, ''Corrida de feria'' * 1948 (10 January): Xavier Montsalvatge's children's opera, ''El gato con botas'' * 1948 (10 January):
Carlos Surinach Carlos Lund (or Carles Suriñach)
i Wrokona (; March 6, 1915 – November 12, 1997) was a Spanish-born
's opera, ''El mozo que casó con mujer brava'' * 1950 (14 December):
Conrado del Campo Conrado del Campo y Zabaleta (28 October 1878 – 17 March 1953) was a Spanish composer, violinist and pedagogue. Career Del Campo was born in Madrid. He became professor at the Madrid Royal Conservatory in 1915, where he was an influential teac ...
's opera, ''Lola la Piconera'' * 1952 (12 December): Joan Manén's opera ''Soledad'', and his ballet ''Rosario la Tirana'' * 1953 (21 May): Antoni Massana's ''Canigó'', the first Catalan-language opera after the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
* 1955 (17 December): Ángel Barrios' opera, ''La Lola se va a los puertos'' * 1955 (19 December):
Joaquín Rodrigo Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre, 1st Marquess of the Gardens of Aranjuez (; 22 November 1901 – 6 July 1999), was a Spanish composer and a virtuoso pianist. He is best known for composing the '' Concierto de Aranjuez'', a cornerstone of the classical g ...
's ballet, ''Pavana real'' * 1956 (28 April): Frederic Mompou and Xavier Montsalvatge's ballet, ''Perlimplinada'' * 1959 (1 January): Joan Altisent's opera, ''Amunt!'' * 1960 (17 November): Ricard Lamote de Grignon's opera, ''La cabeza del dragón'' (written in 1939) * 1960 (1 May):
Cristóbal Halffter Cristóbal Halffter Jiménez-Encina (24 March 1930 – 23 May 2021) was a Spanish classical composer. He was the nephew of two other composers, Rodolfo and Ernesto Halffter, and is regarded as the most important Spanish composer of the gen ...
's ballet ''Jugando al toro'', and Matilde Salvador's ballet ''El segoviano esquivo'' * 1961 (24 November):
Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was a Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20t ...
and Ernesto Halffter's scenic cantata, ''Atlàntida'' * 1962 (11 December): Xavier Montsalvatge's opera, ''Una voce in off'' * 1969 (1 February):
Joan Guinjoan Joan Guinjoan i Gispert (28 November 1931 – 1 January 2019) was a Catalan composer and pianist. Life Born in Riudoms, Guinjoan studied at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu in Barcelona. In 1954, he moved to Paris and continued ...
's ballet, ''Els cinc continents'' * 1974 (19 January): Matilde Salvador's opera, ''Vinatea'' * 1975 (29 November): J. Ventura Tort's opera, ''Rondalla d'esparvers'' * 1986 (22 May): Josep Soler's opera, ''Oedipus et Iocasta'' (premiered as an oratorio at the
Palau de la Música Catalana Palau de la Música Catalana (, ) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan ''modernisme, modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for Orfeó Català, a ...
, 1972) * 1988 (21 September): Xavier Benguerel's scenic cantata ''Llibre vermell''. * 1989 (24 September):
Leonardo Balada Leonardo Balada Ibáñez (born September 22, 1933) is a Catalan American classical composer, who is noted for his operas and orchestral works. Life Balada was born in Barcelona, Spain. After studying piano at the Conservatori Superior de M� ...
's opera, ''Cristóbal Colón'' * 2000 (2 October): José Luis Turina's opera, ''D.Q., Don Quijote en Barcelona'', with sets by
La Fura dels Baus La Fura dels Baus () is a Spanish theatrical group founded in 1979 in Moià, Barcelona (Spain), known for their urban theatre, use of unusual settings and blurring of the boundaries between audience and actor. "La Fura dels Baus" in Catalan me ...
* 2004 (3 November): Joan Guinjoan's opera, ''Gaudí'' * 2006 (6 April): Josep Mestres Quadreny's camera opera, ''El ganxo'' * 2009 (20 April): Enric Palomar's opera, ''La cabeza del Bautista''


= Spanish operatic premieres

= * 1847:
Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...
's ''Giovanna d'Arco'' (1845) * 1848:
Saverio Mercadante Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante (baptised 17 September 179517 December 1870) was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti or Gioa ...
's '' Orazi e Curiazi'' (1846) * 1849:
Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...
's ''Der Freischütz''(1821), Giuseppe Verdi's ''Alzira'' (1847), and
Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...
's ''Les martyrs'' (1840, in Italian) * 1853: Daniel-François Auber's ''Fra Diavolo'' (1830) * 1854: Giuseppe Verdi's ''Il trovatore'' (1853) * 1856: Giuseppe Verdi's ''Les vepres siciliennes'' (1855, 1856), in Italian;
Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...
's ''Les huguenots'' (in Italian) (1836) * 1861: Giuseppe Verdi's ''Un ballo in maschera'' (1859) * 1862: Giuseppe Verdi's ''Simon Boccanegra'' (1857) * 1863:
Giacomo Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...
's ''Le prophète'' (in Italian) (1849) * 1864:
Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
's ''Faust'' (1859) * 1868: Giacomo Meyerbeer's ''Dinorah'' (in Italian) (1859) * 1870: Giuseppe Verdi's ''Don Carlos'' (1868, Italian version 1869) * 1875: Giuseppe Verdi's ''Requiem'' (1874) and
Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas ''Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet (opera), Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the C ...
's ''Mignon'' (1866) * 1876: Carlos Gomes' ''Il guarany'' (1870) * 1880:
Arrigo Boito Arrigo Boito (; born Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito; 24 February 1842 10 June 1918) was an Italian librettist, composer, poet and critic whose only completed opera was ''Mefistofele''. Among the operas for which he wrote the libretto, libretti ar ...
's ''Mefistofele'' (1868, revised 1875) * 1883:
Amilcare Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera La Gioconda (opera), ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro ( ...
's ''La Gioconda'' (1876) * 1885:
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's ''Die fliegende Höllander'' (1843) * 1887: Richard Wagner's ''Tannhäuser'' (1845, 1861) * 1891:
Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...
's ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (1890) * 1894: Pietro Mascagni's ''L'amico Fritz'' (1891) and
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
's ''Manon'' (1884) * 1897:
Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...
's ''Samson et Dalila'' (1877) * 1898:
Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for List of compositions by Giacomo Puccini#Operas, his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he ...
's ''La bohème'' (1896) and
Umberto Giordano Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. His best-known work in that genre was Andrea Chénier (1896). He was born in Foggia in Apulia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Se ...
's ''Andrea Chénier'' (1896) * 1899: Richard Wagner's ''Tristan und Isolde'' (1865) and
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
's ''Werther'' (1892) * 1900:
Umberto Giordano Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. His best-known work in that genre was Andrea Chénier (1896). He was born in Foggia in Apulia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Se ...
's ''Fedora''(1898), Pietro Mascagni's ''Iris'' (1898),
Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's ''Siegfried'' (1876), and
Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of th ...
's ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (1779) * 1901: Richard Wagner's ''Götterdammerung''(1876) and Engelbert Humperdinck's ''Hänsel und Gretel'' (1893) * 1903:
Francesco Cilea Francesco Cilea (; 23 July 1866 – 20 November 1950) was an Italian composer. Today he is particularly known for his operas ''L'arlesiana'' and ''Adriana Lecouvreur''. Biography Born in Palmi near Reggio di Calabria, Cilea was the son of a pr ...
's ''Adriana Lecouvreur'' (1902) * 1904:
Gustave Charpentier Gustave Charpentier (; 25 June 1860 – 18 February 1956) was a French composer, best known for his opera ''Louise (opera), Louise''.Langham Smith R., "Gustave Charpentier", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 19 ...
's ''Louise'' (1900) * 1905:
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
's ''Thaïs'' (1894) and Richard Wagner's ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (1868) * 1907: Pietro Mascagni's ''Amica'' (1905) * 1908:
Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...
's ''Les barbares''(1901) * 1910:
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
' ''Salome'' (1905) and
Eugen d'Albert Eugen (originally Eugène) Francis Charles d'Albert (10 April 1864 – 3 March 1932) was a Scottish-born pianist and composer who immigrated to Germany. Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, h ...
's ''Tiefland'' (1903) (sung in Catalan) * 1911:
Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...
's ''
L'enfant prodigue The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a parable of Jesus in the Bible. The Prodigal Son or Prodigal Son may also refer to: Film * ''L'Enfant prodigue'' (1907 film) (The Prodigal Son), by Michel Carré, based on his play * , a short silent film by ...
'' (1884) * 1913: Richard Wagner's ''Parsifal'' (1883) * 1915: Giacomo Puccini's ''La fanciulla del West'' (1914) and
Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...
's ''Boris Godunov'' (1869) * 1916:
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as ''Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays by ...
's ''Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909) and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's ''Le nozze di Figaro'' (1786) * 1919:
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
's ''Le jongleur de Notre-Dame'' (1902) and Pietro Mascagni's ''Guglielmo Rattcliff'' (1895) * 1920: Pietro Mascagni's ''Isabeau'' (1911) * 1921: Richard Strauss' ''Rosenkavalier'' (1911) and
Vincent d'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the Pa ...
's ''L'étranger'' (1901) * 1922:
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...
's ''Schneguroschka'' (1885),
Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin (12 November 183327 February 1887) was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was one of the prominent 19th-century composers known as " The Five", a group dedicated to prod ...
's ''Prince Igor'' (1890),
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...
''Pikovaia dama'' (1890) * 1923:
Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...
's ''Khovanshchina'' (1886; first Western performance 1913) * 1924:
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...
's ''Rusalka'' (1900),
Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( ; ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded ...
's ''Prodaná nevesta'' (''The Bartered Bride'', 1866),
Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...
's ''Les contes d'Hoffmann'' (1881), and
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
's ''Hérodiade'' (1881) * 1925:
Umberto Giordano Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano (28 August 186712 November 1948) was an Italian composer, mainly of operas. His best-known work in that genre was Andrea Chénier (1896). He was born in Foggia in Apulia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Se ...
's ''La cena delle beffe'' (1924), Richard Strauss' ''Intermezzo'' (1924), and Mozart's ''Die Zauberflöte''(1791) * 1926:
Riccardo Zandonai Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer and conducting, conductor. Biography Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he ...
's ''Francesca da Rimini'' (1914), Rimsky-Korsakov's ''The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh'' (1907, first performance outside Russia), ''Pskovityanka'' (1873, 1892), and ''May Night'' (1879) * 1927:
Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...
's ''Háry János suite'' (orchestral suite from opera ''Háry János'') * 1928:
Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...
's ballet ''La sacre du printemps'' (1913), Giacomo Puccini's ''Turandot'' (1926), Mozart's ''Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail'' (1782) * 1929: Massenet's ''Don Quichotte'' (1910) * 1930: Italo Montemezzi's ''L'amore dei tre re'' (1913) * 1933: Stravinsky's ''Oedipus rex'' (1927) * 1936:
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...
's ''Jakobin'' (1897, revised) * 1939: Enric Granados's ''Goyescas'' (1916) * 1943: Richard Strauss' ''Ariadne auf Naxos'' (1912) * 1948: Giacomo Puccini's ''Il trittico'' (1918),
Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...
's ''
La fiamma (; "The Flame") is an opera in three acts by Ottorino Respighi to a libretto by Claudio Guastalla based on Hans Wiers-Jenssen's 1908 play ''Anne Pedersdotter, The Witch''. The plot is loosely based on the story of Anne Pedersdotter, a Norwegi ...
'' (1934), and Stravinsky's ''Le rossignol'' (1914) * 1949: Richard Strauss' ''Elektra'' (1909) and
Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer, violist, violinist, and academic teacher. His most celebrated piece is the '' Symphonie Espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra that re ...
's ''Le roi d'Ys'' (1888) * 1951: Strauss' ''Die Frau ohne Schätten'' (1918) * 1952:
Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...
's ''The Consul'' (1950) * 1953:
Riccardo Zandonai Riccardo Zandonai (28 May 1883 – 5 June 1944) was an Italian composer and conducting, conductor. Biography Zandonai was born in Borgo Sacco, Rovereto, then part of Austria-Hungary. As a young man, he showed such an aptitude for music that he ...
's ''I cavalieri di Ekebù'' (1925) * 1954: Menotti's ''Amelia al ballo'' (1937),
Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...
's ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' (1919), and Puccini's ''La rondine'' (1920, 1924) * 1955:
Ildebrando Pizzetti Ildebrando Pizzetti (20 September 1880 – 13 February 1968) was an Italian composer of classical music, as well as a musicologist and a music critic. Biography Pizzetti was born in Parma in 1880. He was part of the "Generation of 1880" alon ...
's ''Debora e Jaele''(1921),
George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...
's ''Porgy and Bess''(1935), and
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...
's ''Eugene Onegin'' (1879) * 1956:
Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...
's ''Dido and Aeneas'' (1689) * 1957: Respighi's ''Maria Egiziaca'' (1932) and Menotti's ''The Saint of Bleecker Street'' (1955) * 1958: Ildebrando Pizzetti's ''Assassinio nella catedrale'' (1958) and
Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...
's ''Die Kluge'' (1943) * 1959:
Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...
's ''Dialogues des Carmelites''(1959) and
Franco Alfano Franco Alfano (8 March 1875 – 27 October 1954) was an Italian composer and pianist, best known today for his operas ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' (1936) and '' Risurrezione'' (1904), and for having completed Puccini's opera ''Turandot'' in 1926. He ha ...
's ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' (1936) * 1962: Strauss' ''Arabella'' (1932) * 1963: Mozart's ''La clemenza di Tito'' (1791) * 1964:
Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
's ''Wozzeck'' (1925) and
Georg Friedrich Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, Han ...
's ''Giulio Cesare'' (1724) * 1965:
Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...
's ''Katerina Izmailova'' (1956) and
Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...
's ''Jenůfa'' (1904) * 1966:
José Pablo Moncayo José Pablo Moncayo García (June 29, 1912 – June 16, 1958) was a Mexican pianist, percussionist, music teacher, composer and conductor. "As composer, José Pablo Moncayo represents one of the most important legacies of the Mexican nationali ...
's ''La mulata de Córdoba'' (1948), Luis Sandi's ''Carlota'', Salvador Moreno's ''Severino'',
Alfredo Keil Alfredo Cristiano Keil (3 July 1850 – 4 October 1907) was a Portuguese composer, painter, poet, archaeologist and art collector. Keil is best known as the composer of the Portuguese national anthem, ''A Portuguesa''. Life Keil was born in ...
's ''A serrana'' (1899), Francis Poulenc's ''La voix humaine'' (1959), Henri Busser's ''La carrosse du Saint-Sacrement'', and
Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo (23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Throughout his career, Leoncavallo produced numerous operas and songs but it is his 1892 opera ''Pagliacci'' that remained his lasting co ...
's ''La bohème'' (1896) * 1969: Igor Stravinsky's ''The Rake's Progress'' (1962),
Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
's ''Lulu'' (1938), and
Mikhail Glinka Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka ( rus, links=no, Михаил Иванович Глинка, Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, mʲɪxɐˈil ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲinkə, Ru-Mikhail-Ivanovich-Glinka.ogg; ) was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognit ...
's ''One life for the Tsar'' * 1971:
Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...
's ''Mahagonny'' * 1972: Bohuslav Martinu's ''A Greek Passion'' and Smetana's ''Dalibor'' * 1973:
Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...
's ''Katia Kabanova'' and
Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...
's ''Caterina Cornaro'' * 1975:
Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...
's ''Billy Budd'' (1941),
Nino Rota Giovanni "Nino" Rota Rinaldi (; ; 3 December 1911 – 10 April 1979) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor and academic who is best known for his film scores, notably for the films of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti. He also composed ...
's ''Il cappello di paglia di Firenze'',
Gian Francesco Malipiero Gian Francesco Malipiero (; 18 March 1882 – 1 August 1973) was an Italian composer, musicologist, music teacher and editor. Life Early years Born in Venice into an aristocratic family, the grandson of the opera composer Francesco Malipiero, Gi ...
's ''Il capitano Spavento'', and Stravinsky's ''Mavra'' * 1976: Janáček's ''From the Dead House'' * 1977:
Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...
's ''War and Peace'',
Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
's ''Benvenuto Cellini'', and
Luigi Cherubini Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...
's ''Medea'' * 1985:
Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...
's ''Moses und Aaron'' * 1987:
Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
's ''Lulu'' ( Friedrich Cerha's completed version, 1979) and Mozart's ''Lucio Silla'' * 1991: Strauss' ''Capriccio'' (1942) * 1992:
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
' ''Einstein on the Beach'' (1976) and János Vajda's ''Mario and the magician'' * 1994:
Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...
's ''Mathis der Maler'' (1938) * 1999: Janáček's ''Vec Makropoulos'' * 2000:
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as ''Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays by ...
's ''Sly'' * 2001: Britten's ''Gloriana'' * 2002:
Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...
's ''Lady Macbeth de Mtsenk'' (original 1934 version) and
Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...
's ''La favorite'' (1850 French version) * 2003:
Philippe Boesmans Philippe Boesmans (17 May 1936 – 10 April 2022) was a Belgian pianist, composer and academic teacher. He studied to be a pianist at the Royal Conservatory of Liège, and was self-taught as a composer, influenced by the Liège Group of Henri Po ...
' '' Wintermärchen'' (1999) * 2004:
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
's ''Cléopâtre'' (1914) * 2005: Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1960), Giuseppe Verdi's ''Il corsaro'' (1848), and
Gioacchino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote man ...
's ''La gazzetta'' (1816) * 2006:
Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (; May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was an Austrian composer and conductor, who fled Europe in the mid-1930s and later adopted US nationality. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential comp ...
's ''Die tote Stadt'' and Handel's ''Ariodante'' (1735) * 2007:
Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large List of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, oeuvre is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky, Mu ...
's ''Boulevard Solitude''(1952);
Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...
's ''Le portrait de Manon'' (1894); Giuseppe Verdi's ''Don Carlos'' French original version (1868). * 2008: Britten's ''Death in Venice'' and ''L'ape musicale'' (a 1789 ''
pasticcio In music, a ''pasticcio'' or ''pastiche'' is an opera or other musical work composed of works by different composers who may or may not have been working together, or an adaptation or localization of an existing work that is loose, unauthorized, ...
'' by
Lorenzo da Ponte Lorenzo Da Ponte (; 10 March 174917 August 1838) was an Italians, Italian, later American, opera libretto, librettist, poet and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Wolfgan ...
with music by Mozart,
Vicente Martín y Soler Anastasio Martín Ignacio Vicente Tadeo Francisco Pellegrin Martín y Soler (2 May 175430 January or 10 February 1806) was a Spanish composer of opera and ballet. Although relatively obscure now, in his own day he was compared favorably with his ...
, Giuseppe Gazzaniga,
Domenico Cimarosa Domenico Cimarosa (; 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Music of Italy, Italian composer of the Neapolitan School and of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He wrote more than eighty operas, the best known of which is ''Il ...
, Giordani and Tarchi) * 2009:
Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 3 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernism (music), modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early w ...
's ''Król Roger'' (1926) and Héctor Parra's ''Hypermusic prologue'' (2009) * 2010: George Benjamin's ''Into the little hill'' (2006) * 2011: Agustí Charles' ''Lord Byron: un estiu sense estiu'' (2011) and
György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...
's '' Le Grand Macabre'' (1978) * 2013:
Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...
's '' Street Scene'' (1946)


Stage directors and stagecraft

During the second half of the 19th century, a school of stagecraft and theatrical scenery was developed at the Liceu. After beginning with Joan Ballester, who was known for his sets for ''
L'Africaine ''L'Africaine'' (''The African Woman'') is an 1837 five-act French ''grand opéra'' by Giacomo Meyerbeer, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe. By 1852, the plot had been revised to depict fictional events in the life of Portuguese explorer Vasco da ...
'', the leading set designer was Francesc Soler i Rovirosa. The style was realistic, using painted paper flats and curtains. Sets and costumes were made in the theater workshops. From the 1900s to the 1930s, the school was represented by scenery painters who included Maurici Vilomara, Fèlix Urgellés, Salvador Alarma and Oleguer Junyent. The last of these painters was Josep Mestres Cabanes, who painted scenery from 1930 to the 1950s.


Singers

Many notable singers have performed at the Liceu; when
Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...
visited the Liceu, he said: ''"Ils aiment trop the ténor"'' ("They he Liceu publiclove tenors too much"). Liceu debuts and final (or most recent) performances are in parentheses: * 1800s: Manuela Rossi-Caccia (1847), (1860/1862), Giuseppe Mario (1863),
Roberto Stagno Roberto Stagno (; 18 October 1840 ome sources give 1836 as his birth year – 26 April 1897) was a prominent Italian opera tenor. He became an important interpreter of verismo music when it burst on to the operatic scene during the 1890s; ...
(1867), Rosa Vercolini, Francesco Tamagno (1876/1890), Adelaida d'Alberti, Francesc Mateu (Francesco Uetam) (1874/1877), Carolina Cepeda (1877), (1881),
Julián Gayarre Sebastián Julián Gayarre Garjón (9 January 1844 in Roncal, Navarre, Spain – 2 January 1890 in Madrid, Spain), better known as Julián Gayarre, was a Spanish opera singer who created the role of Marcello in Donizetti's '' Il Duca d'Alba'' ...
(1881/1888), Victor Maurel, Francesc Viñas (1888/1913),
Hariclea Darclée Hariclea Darclée (née Haricli; later Hartulari; 10 June 1860 – 12 January 1939) was a celebrated Romanian operatic spinto soprano of Greek descent who had a three-decade-long career. Darclée's repertoire ranged from coloratura soprano roles ...
(1894),
Luisa Tetrazzini Luisa Tetrazzini (29 June 1871 – 28 April 1940) was an Italian coloratura soprano of great international fame. Tetrazzini "had a scintillating voice with a brilliant timbre and a range and agility well beyond the norm...". She enjoyed a ...
(1896), Geneviève Vix, (1896), Maria Barrientos (1898/1918), and Rosina Storchio (1898) * 1900s: In 1904,
Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that r ...
(in his only Liceu appearance) participated in two performances of ''Rigoletto''. Gemma Bellincioni played the title role in ''Salomé'', where Catalan singer Conchita Supervía made her debut. Other performers included Mario Sammarco (1902), Adamo Didur (1905), Mattia Battistini (1906), Graziella Pareto (1906/1928), Giuseppe Anselmi (1907),
Titta Ruffo Titta Ruffo (9 June 1877 – 5 July 1953), born as Ruffo Cafiero (double forename) Titta, was an Italian operatic baritone who had a major international singing career. Known as the "Voce del leone" ("voice of the lion"), he was greatly admi ...
(1908/1926), and Riccardo Stracciari (1909/1939). * 1910s–1920s:
Elvira de Hidalgo Elvira Juana Rodríguez Roglán (December 28, 1891 – January 21, 1980), known professionally as Elvira de Hidalgo, was a prominent Spanish coloratura soprano, who later became a teacher and vocal coach. Her most famous pupil was Maria ...
(1911),
Ebe Stignani Ebe Stignani (10 July 1903 – 5 October 1974) was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career of more than thirty years. Career Born in Naples in 1903 (some so ...
, Conchita Supervía (1912/1928), Hipólito Lázaro (1914/1945),
Giovanni Zenatello Giovanni Zenatello (22 February 1876 – 11 February 1949) was an Italian opera singer. Born in Verona, he enjoyed an international career as a dramatic tenor of the first rank. Otello became his most famous operatic role but his repertoire a ...
,
Giacomo Lauri-Volpi Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (11 December 1892 – 17 March 1979) was an Italian tenor with a lyric voice of exceptional range and technical facility. He performed throughout Europe and the Americas in a top-class career that spanned 40 years. Career an ...
(1922/1945 and 1972)
Miguel Fleta Miguel Burro Fleta (28 December 1897, in Albalate de Cinca, Province of Huesca, Aragon – 29 May 1938, in A Coruña) was a Spanish operatic lyric tenor. Despite his short stage career, lasting from 1919 to 1935, Fleta has been described as one ...
(1925/1933),
Toti Dal Monte Antonietta Meneghel (27 June 1893 – 26 January 1975), better known by her stage name Toti Dal Monte, was a celebrated Italian operatic lyric soprano. She may be best remembered today for her performance as Cio-cio-san in Puccini's ''Madama Butt ...
(1925/1934),
Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɨˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; 12 April 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass voic ...
(1927/1934),
Lauritz Melchior Lauritz Melchior (20 March 1890 – 18 March 1973) was a Danish-American opera singer. He was the preeminent Wagnerian heldentenor of the 1920s through the 1940s and has come to be considered the quintessence of his voice type. Late in his car ...
(1927/1930), Tina Poli Randaccio, Lily Hafgren, Carlo Galeffi, Gilda Dalla Rizza, Georges Thill, Giannina Arangi Lombardi and Gina Cigna * 1940s: Giulietta Simionato (1945/1951),
Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. ...
(1945/1968, 1994),
Giuseppe Di Stefano Giuseppe Di Stefano (24 July 19213 March 2008) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the mid-1940s until the early 1990s. Called "Pippo" by both fans and friends, he was known as the "Golden Voice" or "The Most Beautiful Vo ...
(1946/1970, 1986),
Maria Caniglia Maria Caniglia (5 May 1905 – 16 April 1979) was one of the leading Italian spinto sopranos of the 1930s and 1940s. Life and career Caniglia was born in Naples and studied at the Music Conservatories of Naples with Agostino Roche. She made h ...
(1947/1954), Gianni Poggi (1947/1963), Kirsten Flagstad (1949/1952),
Hans Hotter Hans Hotter (19 January 19096 December 2003) was a German operatic bass-baritone. He stood and his appearance was striking. His voice and diction were equally recognisable. Early life and career Born in Offenbach am Main, Hesse, Hotter studied ...
(1948/1987), and Max Lorenz (1950/1954) * 1950s: Boris Christoff (1951/1952),
Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian spinto soprano, lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-World War II, war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, Teatro di San Carlo, San ...
(1953/1959), Giuseppe Taddei (1953/1986), Wolfgang Windgassen (1954/1959), Walter Berry (1954/1985), Anton Dermota (1955/1966),
Gianna D'Angelo Gianna D'Angelo (18 November 1929 - 27 December 2013) was an American coloratura soprano, primarily active in the 1950s and 1960s. Born Jane Angelovich in Hartford, Connecticut, she studied first at The Juilliard School in New York City with Giu ...
(1957/1965), Enriqueta Tarrés (1957/1992), Fedora Barbieri, Margherita Carosio,
Astrid Varnay Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 – 4 September 2006) was a Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of the leading Wagnerian heroic soprano ...
(1955/1957),
Gertrude Grob-Prandl Gertrude Grob-Prandl (11 November 191716 May 1995) was an Austrian Wagnerian soprano. Grob-Prandl was born in Vienna and studied at the Vienna Academy of Music with Singer-Burian. She originally intended to become a piano teacher but the profes ...
,
Birgit Nilsson Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide repertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard St ...
(1957/1958),
Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French soprano who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto sopran ...
(1958/1966), Carlo Bergonzi (1958/1982), and
Alfredo Kraus Alfredo Kraus Trujillo (; 24 November 192710 September 1999) was a distinguished Spanish tenor from the Canary Islands (known professionally as Alfredo Kraus), particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles. He was ...
(1958/1994) * 1960s:
Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...
(1960/1989), Piero Cappuccilli (1961/1994), Fiorenza Cossotto (1961/1994),
Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...
(1962/2007),
Virginia Zeani Virginia Zeani (born Virginia Zehan; 21 October 1925 – 20 March 2023) was a Romanian-born opera singer who sang leading soprano roles in the opera houses of Europe and North America. As a singer, she was known for her dramatic intensity and ...
(1963/1977), Pedro Lavirgen (1964/1989),
Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...
(1966/2015), Jaume Aragall (1964–1997), Vicente Sardinero (1964/1997),
Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...
(1965/1975),
Grace Bumbry Grace Melzia Bumbry (January 4, 1937 – May 7, 2023) was an American opera singer, considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, who also ventured to soprano roles. She belonged to a pioneering generation of African-American c ...
(1966/1988), and Anja Silja (1966/2000) * 1970s:
Mirella Freni Mirella Freni (born Mirella Fregni, 27February 19359February 2020) was an Italian operatic soprano who had a career of 50 years and appeared at major international opera houses. She received international attention at the Glyndebourne Festiva ...
(1970/1994),
José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...
(1958 as a child, and 1970/2008), Joan Pons (1970/2006),
Elena Obraztsova Elena Vasilyevna Obraztsova ( rus, Еле́на Васи́льевна Образцо́ва, , ɪ̯ɪˈlʲenə vɐˈsʲilʲɪ̯ɪvnə ɐbrɐˈstsovə; 7 July 1939 – 12 January 2015) was a Soviet and Russian mezzo-soprano. She was awarded the Pe ...
(1970/1984),
Agnes Baltsa Agni Baltsa (; also known as Agnes Baltsa; born 19 November 1944) is a leading Greek mezzo-soprano singer. Baltsa was born in Lefkada. She began playing piano at the age of seven, before moving to Athens in 1958 to concentrate on singing. She gr ...
(1971/1992), and
Edita Gruberová Edita Gruberová (; 23 December 1946 – 18 October 2021) was a Slovak coloratura soprano. She made her stage debut in Bratislava in 1968 as Rosina in Rossini's '' Il barbiere di Siviglia'', and successfully auditioned at the Vienna State Oper ...
(1977/2008) * 1980s: Simon Estes (1981/1997),
Matti Salminen Matti Kalervo Salminen (born 7 July 1945) is a Finnish operatic bass, now retired, who has sung at the most important opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan and Bayreuth Festival. He is distinguished by an imposing figure a ...
(1981/2004),
Ewa Podleś Ewa Maria Podleś (; 26 April 1952 – 19 January 2024) was a Polish coloratura contralto singer who had an active international career both on the opera stage and in recital. She was known for the agility of her voice and a vocal range which s ...
(1981/2007),
Martti Talvela Martti Olavi Talvela (4 February 1935 – 23 July 1989) was a Finnish operatic bass. Born in Hiitola, Finland (now in the Republic of Karelia), the eighth of ten children
(1982/1989),
Franco Bonisolli Franco Bonisolli (May 25, 1938 – October 30, 2003) was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, notably as Manrico and Calaf. Life and career Bonisolli was born in Rovereto, Italy. He studied with Alf ...
Éva Marton (1982/2006), Gwyneth Jones (1985/1997), Nicolai Ghiaurov (1985/1992), Rockwell Blake (1986/1996), and Dolora Zajick (1988/2008) * 1990s and 2000s: Josep Bros (1992/2007), Deborah Polaski (2000),
Angela Denoke Angela Denoke (born 27 November 1961) is a German opera singer (soprano). Born in Stade, she studied at the University of Music and Drama of Hamburg. Her first contract was at the Theater Ulm (1992–1996), where she sang Fiordiligi (''Così ...
(2002),
Natalie Dessay Natalie Dessay (; born 19 April 1965) is a French soprano, best known as an opera singer before her retirement from the opera stage in 2013. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' in 1992, and then ...
,
Juan Diego Flórez Juan Diego Flórez (born Juan Diego Flórez Salom, January 13, 1973) is a Peruvian operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in bel canto operas. On June 4, 2007, he received his country's highest decoration, the ''Knight Grand Cross in t ...
(2002/2008),
Rolando Villazón Rolando Villazón Mauleón (born 22 February 1972) is a Mexican operatic tenor, stage director, author, radio and television personality, and artistic director. He resides in France and received his citizenship in 2007. Villazón has published ...
(2005/2008), Peter Seiffert, Fiorenza Cedolins (2005/2007), and
Nina Stemme Nina Maria Stemme (born Thöldte, 11 May 1963) is a Swedish dramatic soprano opera singer. Stemme "is regarded by today's opera fans as our era's greatest Wagnerian soprano". In 2010, Michael Kimmelman wrote of one of Stemme's performances in ...
(2004–2005/2008–2009)


Company

The Liceu has a
theater manager A theater manager, also called a general manager, managing director, or intendant (British English), is the administrator of a theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors ...
(an ''empresari'' or ''administrador''). Since 1980, it has also had an
artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...
.


Managers

* Albert Bernis (1901–1911) * Francesc Casanovas (1911–1913) * Alfredo Volpini (1913–1914) * Joan Mestres i Calvet (1915–1947) * Josep F. Arquer (until 1959) and Joan Pàmias (1947–1980) * Lluís Portabella (1981–1986) * Josep M. Busquets (1986–1992) * Jordi Maluquer (1992–1993) * Josep Caminal (1993–2005) * Rosa Cullell (2005–2008) * Joan Francesc Marco (2008–2013) * Roger Guasch (2013–2018) * Valentí Oviedo (2018–present)


Artistic directors

* (1947–1952) * Lluís Andreu (1981–1990) * Albin Hänseroth (1990–1996) * Joan Matabosch (1996–2014) * Christina Scheppelmann (2014–2019) * Víctor Garcia de Gomar (2019–present)


Orchestra and conductors

The Liceu has had its own orchestra, the Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu, since it was founded in 1847. In 2024, it was Spain's oldest working orchestra in Spain. Its first conductor was Marià Obiols.


Music directors and principal conductors

* Ernest Xancó (1959–1961) * Eugenio Marco (1981–1984) * Uwe Mund (1987–1994) *
Bertrand de Billy Bertrand de Billy (born Paris, 11 January 1965) is a French and Swiss conductor. He attended a Jesuit school, but only started serious musical studies when he was around 14–15; he studied piano and violin. CD Opéra  https://debilly.com/cd-op ...
(1999–2004) * Sebastian Weigle (2004–2008) * Michael Boder (2008–2012) * Josep Pons (2012present) In November 2017, the Liceu announced that it had extended Pons' contract through the 2021–2022 season.


Choir conductors

The choir was consolidated during the 1960s by its, conductor Riccardo Bottino (1960–1982). Since 1982, the choir conductors have been (1982–1993) with Vittorio Sicuri (1982–1990) and Andrés Máspero (since 1990). The present choir conductor is William Spaulding.


Conservatori de Música del Liceu

The
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu () is a music college in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was created in 1837 with the name ''Liceo Filo-dramático de Montesión''. In 1847 the institution inaugurated the opera house Gran Teatre del Li ...
, a music college founded in 1837, is linked to the theater.


Círculo del Liceo

The Círculo del Liceo is a private club in the Liceu building. The "Círculo" opened in November 1847 with 125 founding members, according to its earliest records. The club has lounges, conference rooms, a restaurant, a library and other amenities. For its first 150 years, only men could join; women were allowed access as guests of male members. In 2001, after controversy about the club's exclusively-male membership, its constitution was amended and ten women (including
Montserrat Caballé María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch or Folc (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), also known as Montserrat Caballé (i Folch), was a Spanish operatic soprano from Catalonia. Widely considered to be one of the best sopranos ...
and relatives of existing members) were permitted to apply for membership. All ten were turned down, but were admitted after a subsequent vote by members (373 votes in favor and 279 against). The club has about one thousand members. The Círculo del Liceo is Spain's oldest club still at its original location. The club has accumulated a number of artistic works, and many of its rooms are decorated in
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
style. Four large windows in the low foyer attest the influence of Wagnerism in Catalan culture at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to its furniture and decor, the club has a collection of sculptures,
marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of wood veneer, veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns or designs. The technique may be applied to case furn ...
, enamels, engravings, etchings and paintings by Catalan artists who include Alexandre de Riquer,
Santiago Rusiñol Santiago Rusiñol i Prats (, ; Barcelona 25 February 1861 – Aranjuez 13 June 1931) was a Spanish painter, poet, journalist, collector and playwright. He was one of the leaders of the Catalan '' modernisme'' movement. He created more than ...
, Modest Urgell Inglada and Francesc Miralles. The club's most notable art is a set of twelve oils on fabric, commissioned to
Ramon Casas Ramon Casas i Carbó (; 4 January 1866 – 29 February 1932) was a Spanish artist. Living through a turbulent time in the history of his native Barcelona, Catalonia, he was known as a portraitist, sketching and painting the intellectual, ec ...
and installed in its rotunda. Each of the twelve paintings, Casas' most ambitious work, is inspired by a musical subject.


In literature and film


Literature

* 's satirical comedy ''"Liceístas" i "cruzados"'' (1865), about the 19th-century rivalry between fans of the Liceu and fans of the Teatre Principal (Barcelona's two main opera houses) *
Narcís Oller Narcís Oller i de Moragas (; 10August 184626July 1930) was a Catalan writer, most noted for the novels ''La papallona'' (The Butterfly) which appeared with a foreword by Émile Zola in the French translation; his most well-known work ''L'Escany ...
's novel, ''La febre d'or'' (1892) * Artur Masriera's sketchbook ''Los buenos barceloneses: hombres, costumbres y anécdotas de la Barcelona ochocentista (1850–1870)'' (1925) * 's novels ''Mariona Rebull'' (1944) and ''El viudo Rius'' (1945), about the theater's 1893 bombing * Eduardo Mendoza's novel ''La ciudad de los prodigios'' (1986). The film based on it was filmed at the Teatre Fortuny in
Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...
. * 's short-story collection, ''El dia que es va cremar el Liceu'' (''The Day the Liceu Was Burnt'', 1995)


Films

* '' Mariona Rebull'' (1947), directed by José Luis Sáenz de Heredia * ''Gayarre'' (1958), by Domingo Viladomat, a biopic about
Julián Gayarre Sebastián Julián Gayarre Garjón (9 January 1844 in Roncal, Navarre, Spain – 2 January 1890 in Madrid, Spain), better known as Julián Gayarre, was a Spanish opera singer who created the role of Marcello in Donizetti's '' Il Duca d'Alba'' ...
(
Alfredo Kraus Alfredo Kraus Trujillo (; 24 November 192710 September 1999) was a distinguished Spanish tenor from the Canary Islands (known professionally as Alfredo Kraus), particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles. He was ...
) * '' Circus World'' (1964), directed by
Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...
, with
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...
and
Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938), known as Claudia Cardinale (), is an Italian actress. Born and raised in La Goulette, a neighbourhood of Tunis, Cardinale won the "Most Beautiful Italian Girl in Tunisia" competition ...
. Some circus scenes were filmed inside the theater. * ''Romanza final'' (1986), directed by José María Forqué, a film about
Julián Gayarre Sebastián Julián Gayarre Garjón (9 January 1844 in Roncal, Navarre, Spain – 2 January 1890 in Madrid, Spain), better known as Julián Gayarre, was a Spanish opera singer who created the role of Marcello in Donizetti's '' Il Duca d'Alba'' ...
's life with Josep Carreras. * ''Un submarí a les estovalles'' (1990), directed by Ignasi Pere Ferré * ''La febre d'or'' (1993), directed by Gonzalo Herralde, with Fernando Guillén, Rosa M. Sardà and Àlex Casanovas, with excerpts of a performance of
Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...
's ''
Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...
'' * ''The Life of David Gale'' (2003), directed by
Alan Parker Sir Alan William Parker (14 February 1944 – 31 July 2020) was an English film director, screenwriter and producer. His early career, beginning in his late teens, was spent as a copywriter and director of television advertisements. After abo ...
, with
Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. Known for Kevin Spacey on screen and stage, his work on stage and screen, he List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Spacey, has received numerous accolades, including two ...
and
Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet (; born 5 October 1975) is an English actress. Primarily known for her roles as headstrong and complicated women in independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Ac ...


See also

*
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu () is a music college in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was created in 1837 with the name ''Liceo Filo-dramático de Montesión''. In 1847 the institution inaugurated the opera house Gran Teatre del Li ...
* List of theaters and concert halls in Barcelona * Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu


References


Citations


General and cited references

* Alier, Roger, ''El gran llibre del Liceu''. Barcelona: Carroggio, DL 1999. * Alier, Roger, ''El Gran Teatro del Liceo: historia artística''. Barcelona: Francesc X. Mata, 1991. * Alier, Roger, ''Historia del Gran Teatro del Liceo''. Barcelona: La Vanguardia, 1983. * ''Anuari 1947–1997 del Gran Teatre del Liceu''. Recerca i recopilació: Pau Nadal. Barcelona: Amics del Liceu: Àmbit, DL 1997. * Artís, Josep, ''El Gran Teatro del Liceo''. Col·lecció Barcelona histórica y monumental. Barcelona: Aymá, 1946. * Daufí, Alícia. "De la transgressió carnavalesca al silenci de la postguerra. Estudi musical, social, cultural i econòmic dels balls de màscares al Gran Teatre del Liceu (1848-1936)" npublished doctoral dissertation Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2022. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/266133 * ''Crònica il·lustrada del Gran Teatre del Liceu: 1947–1997''. Barcelona: Amics del Liceu : Àmbit, DL 1997. * Lloret, Teresa, ''Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona''. arcelona: Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu cop. 2002. * ''Òpera Liceu: una exposició en cinc actes: Museu d'Història de Catalunya, 19 setembre de 1997-11 de gener de 1998, Barcelona''. arcelona Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Cultura : Proa : Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu, DL 1997. * Radigales, Jaume, ''Els orígens del Gran Teatre del Liceu: 1837–1847: de la plaça de Santa Anna a la Rambla: història del Liceu Filharmònic d'Isabel II o Liceu Filodramàtic de Barcelona''. Barcelona: Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, 1998. * Subirá, José, ''La ópera en los teatros de Barcelona: estudio histórico cronológico desde el siglo XVIII al XX ''. Monografías históricas de Barcelona, 9. Millà. 1946. * Tribó, Jaume, ''Annals 1847–1897 del Gran Teatre del Liceu''. Barcelona: Amics del Liceu: Gran Teatre del Liceu, 2004.


External links

* {{Authority control 1837 establishments in Spain 1847 establishments in Spain Ciutat Vella La Rambla, Barcelona Liceu Music of Catalonia Music venues completed in 1847 Music venues completed in 1862 Music venues completed in 1999 Opera houses in Spain Theatres and concert halls in Barcelona Theatres completed in 1847 Theatres completed in 1862 Theatres completed in 1999 Tourist attractions in Barcelona