THE LICEU AND CULTURAL ALCHEMY

Before the beginning of each performance, I have the habit of stopping in the lobby and looking around. This moment is undoubtedly the first of the evening. Some people arrive with the nerves and anxiety of finding themselves in the Gran Teatre del Liceu for the first time and look at their tickets with aw: ‘Second floor, door E, will I know how to find it?’ Others are excited to discover a unique space with 176 years of history; they mythologise its past and grasp that everything that happens there is part of the city’s cultural and artistic history. With subscribers it is different. Some arrive 5 minutes before the show and others with enough time to meet friends and catch up, but they all have the self-assurance of entering a space that is perceived as known, familiar and friendly; in short, a beloved space. It is curious how the same location can be approached in such different ways: from the ceremony of becoming the temple of opera to being a theatre that is like home for most subscribers. The different moods and energies of these 2,292 people who fill the Teatre -together with the music, sets and shows onstage- are fundamental ingredients for opera nights at the Liceu to be unique and to create a kind of cultural alchemy, a transformative effect that usually makes us grow both spiritually and humanistically.

The Liceu is not resigned to the idea that everyone can feel this cultural and transformative alchemy through opera. And this is the reason why this season we are focusing more on Liceu Aprèn and Liceu Apropa, with the aim of continuing to provide tools to make opera an accessible art form and the Liceu a theatre without barriers. This accessibility, the Liceu’s hallmark, is also reinforced by the Liceu+LIVE, a unique platform that brings the Liceu and opera into the home with live broadcasts of five productions: Eugene Oneguin, Antony & Cleopatra, Turandot, Un Ballo in Maschera and La Cenerentola. Liceu+LIVE is also a fantastic way to enjoy the opera by rewatching each show from many different angles.

The most precious summary of all that the Liceu is offering and this new season 23/24 is the libretto you are holding, and we hope that it inspires, beguiles, motivates and excites you. For many of you, the Liceu remains an engine of joy, a place where time stands still. We at the Liceu view this time of yours, this time that you choose to spend on us, as a fundamental responsibility which we want to meet with a season that delights you.

As I do every year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the audiences, the public administrations, the patrons, the benefactors and the Board of Trustees for their dedication, commitment and trust in this institution. The Orchestra, the Chorus, and the technical and administrative staff are working to bring to fruition everything you have read in this season’s programme. This is our commitment.

The last moment of the evening is when the show ends. At that time, I often stop back in the lobby and look at, greet and chat with the audience as they leave. As I came across looks of happiness and gratitude, the Liceu team and I feel that we have done what we were supposed to do.

Happy 23/24 season.

Valentí Oviedo General Director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu