The Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona announced its 2026-2027 season, featuring a record budget of €63.1 million and an impressive line-up of international opera stars. The season will open with Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, starring sopranos Anna Netrebko and Anna Pirozzi. This marks the highest projected income in the theatre's history, a significant development for Barcelona's cultural landscape.
Record Budget Fuels Ambitious Programme
The new budget represents a €5 million increase from the previous season. Public administrations will contribute 48 percent of the funding, approximately €30 million. Patronage also reaches a significant €8.4 million, showing strong support for the arts. Salvador Alemany, President of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Board of Trustees, stated, "This is an important moment for the Liceu, and there is an expectation of growth."
The theatre plans to allocate €17 million to artistic programming, a €2 million decrease from the prior season. It will also dedicate €1.2 million to its educational initiatives. A further €1 million supports the social programme, which includes a second community opera.
Star-Studded Opera Line-Up
The 2026-2027 season features nine staged operas, four concert versions, four dance shows, and a dozen concerts and recitals. The opening production of Aida runs for seventeen performances from 23 September to 15 October. Iranian visual artist Shirin Neshat directs this production, which premiered in Salzburg in 2017. Neshat uses the ballet sequences to show images of repression in Iran, according to reports.
Another major draw is the start of the Wagnerian tetralogy, Das Rheingold, with stage direction by Tobias Kratzer. This production, a collaboration with the Bavarian State Opera, will run for six performances from 7 to 21 February. Jonathan Nott, the new musical director of the theatre on La Rambla, will conduct. Kratzer blends contemporary and medieval aesthetics, mixing everyday life with magic, as he explained when presenting the tetralogy in Barcelona. He noted, "As in the Marvel universe, in Das Rheingold there is also strange magic in this world, a parallel universe to our present, with the technological devices and psychology of our time, but crossed by magic."
Diverse Productions and International Talent
The season also includes two Liceu-produced operas: Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa, directed by Àlex Ollé, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's La flauta màgica, directed by choreographer Marcos Morau. Jenůfa will feature sopranos Asmik Grigorian and Nina Stemme. La flauta màgica will close the season with fifteen performances from 5 to 29 July, showcasing Catalan lyrical talents like Sara Blanch, Serena Sáenz, and Carles Pachon.
Contemporary opera receives attention with Thomas Adès's The exterminating angel, inspired by Luis Buñuel's film. Calixto Bieito directs this production, which will arrive at the Liceu for six performances from 15 to 22 April. This marks the first time the Liceu programmes a work by Adès. Additionally, two Puccini operas, La bohème and La fanciulla del West, will come from Italian theatres. Vincenzo Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi will arrive in autumn 2026, a production from La Scala in Milan.
Community Engagement and Educational Focus
The Liceu continues its commitment to community projects. Following the success of La gata perduda, the theatre will present its second community opera, La rosa dels set pètals. This production, created in collaboration with the Sant Andreu district, involves local residents. Tomàs and Lucas Peire composed the music, Manel Valdivieso conducts, Israel Solà directs the stage, and Blanca Bardagil wrote the libretto. This initiative highlights the Liceu's dedication to making opera accessible and engaging for all Barcelona residents.
Concert versions of operas include Lluïsa Casagemas's Schiava e Regina and Rafael Martínez Valls's Cançó d'amor i guerra. The concert series features Verdi's Requiem on 3 and 4 November, with soprano Lise Davidsen. Other recitals include performances by Anna Netrebko, Ermonela Jaho, and Sondra Radvanovsky. The dance programme offers four productions, including Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker by the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe and NumEros by the Spanish National Dance Company.
A Vision for the Future of Opera
The Liceu frames this programming under the concept of "(des)sacralising," aiming to "transition between the solemnity of ritual and its contemporary revision." This approach seeks to keep opera relevant and engaging for modern audiences. The theatre's artistic director, Víctor Garcia de Gomar, continues to champion new voices and innovative productions. He described Jack Swanson, who will perform in La clemenza di Tito, as "one of the rising voices."
This ambitious season, with its record budget and diverse offerings, reinforces Barcelona's position as a leading cultural capital. It promises to attract both local residents and international visitors to the iconic Gran Teatre del Liceu, ensuring a vibrant future for opera in the city.
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Originally published by Ara Cat. Read original article.
