When thinking about Barcelona's great attractions, the sea, the climate, or its numerous monuments are often considered. Even so, the Catalan capital also stands out for many other reasons, which often remain hidden, such as its varied and excellent classical music offering. Pau Casals, Montserrat Caballé, or Alícia de Larrocha are some of the renowned musicians who have left a profound legacy in the city, a legacy that new generations of artists have magnificently continued. The city now wants to reclaim itself as a capital of classical music with the festival Barcelona Obertura Ciutat de Clàssica, which will offer up to forty classical concerts and operas by 500 international and local artists in 26 unique spaces in the city.
Barcelona Obertura Ciutat de Clàssica was born in 2015 from the hand of the city's three great concert halls --- Palau de la Música Catalana, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, and L'Auditori ---, promoted by Barcelona Global, and with the support of the Institute of Culture of Barcelona (ICUB). This year, Turisme de Barcelona joins the proposal as coordinator, with the aim of spreading Barcelona internationally through the appeal of music.
The objective, as explained by the general director of Turisme de Barcelona, Mateu Hernández, is not to attract more tourists but to attract quality tourists. An objective that the entity pursues through its program Barcelona Art Season to disseminate the excellent artistic attractions of the Catalan capital, as well as through the increasingly numerous medical congresses. "We must ensure that the 155,000 beds available in the city are occupied by the best visitors, and the music lover is a type of tourist that interests us because they are respectful and generate benefits, consume in restaurants, and talk about Barcelona upon their return home," summarized Hernández.
An objective that the classical music festival also emphasizes, which, as its motto "come for the music, stay for the rest" proclaims, seeks to attract music lovers from all over the world and, in addition, make them discover the rest of the attractions the city offers. With this purpose, during the sixth edition of the festival, the cycle will feature artists such as Nadine Sierra, Teodor Currentzis, or Diana Damrau as major attractions.
Despite its international outlook, the festival also does not forget the local public and will offer a total of 23 free concerts in unique spaces such as museums, libraries, civic centers or even historic spaces such as Casa Batlló or the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion. "The objective is for our citizens to feel proud and owners of their city, of its emblematic spaces and of its emerging local talent and, for this reason, concerts will be programmed in all districts of the city with the idea of decentralizing music," defended Xavier Marcè, Councilor for Culture and Creative Industries, who even pointed out the possibility of elevating this festival to a metropolitan scale in future editions.
This year, up to eight new unique spaces will be incorporated where the twenty free concerts will take place, such as the Torre Collserola, the Faculty of Law of the University of Barcelona, the Civil War Shelter 307, the Casa de l'Aigua de Trinitat Nova, the Parish of Crist Redemptor, the Dipòsit del Rei Martí, the Monestir de Pedralbes and the Biblioteca Jaume Fuster, which join the list of other usual spaces such as the Fundació Miró or the Mirador Torre Glòries. The objective is for residents to rediscover spaces in different districts with music as an attraction, "spaces that are not only generally undervalued by residents, but are also not normally open to the public, such as the Torre Collserola," as highlighted by the festival's artistic director, Víctor Medem.
In these unique spaces, up to 200 emerging local artists will perform, coming from the Conservatori del Liceu or the Coro del Palau, but also other institutions such as the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC). Thus, concerts by artists such as pianists Luz Colomer or Ot Ortega, guitarist Emma Campàs, singers Cecilia Rodríguez, Lluís Calvet or Michèle Bréant, as well as string sextet formations, an unusual formation in the world of classical music, will stand out.
In its previous edition, these free concerts gathered up to 3,700 people, with 90% occupancy. For this extensive program, the festival has an extraordinary contribution of up to 350,000 euros from the City Council, through the Institut de Cultura de Barcelona and Turisme de Barcelona, from the profits obtained from the tourist tax, in addition to the budget contributed by the three concert halls promoting the initiative.
Thus, during spring, and specifically from March 19 to April 11, classical music will flourish in Barcelona "at a time when no concerts are programmed in the rest of Europe because weather conditions do not allow it," as defended by the president of Barcelona Obertura, Ramon Agenjo. In addition to the 23 free concerts, the three major concert halls in Barcelona will also offer up to 18 classical and lyrical paid concerts to demonstrate the city's capacity to attract big names from the international music scene.
The Palau de la Música Catalana will offer a total of eight diverse proposals that include Bruckner's Ninth Symphony, in a year commemorating the bicentennial of the Austrian composer's birth, conducted by the acclaimed director Teodor Currentzis. The modernist space will also be the setting for the lyrical concert of soprano Diana Damrau accompanied by tenor Jonas Kaufmann, and Helmut Deutsch on piano.
For its part, the Liceu will present up to eight proposals that include such proposals as the Barcelona debut of Wagner's Lohengrin, with the German composer's great-granddaughter as stage director, in a concert conducted by Josep Pons. The theater will also welcome Nadine Sierra, one of the sopranos who has already become a regular at the hall, and Pretty Yende, two of the most acclaimed voices on the current scene, in a recital that will travel from Rossini or Donizetti to the romanticism of Verdi.
Finally, L'Auditori will also offer eight concerts with the violin as the main protagonist, which will begin with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, performed by the Barcelona Symphony and National Orchestra of Catalonia (OBC) with soloist Marc Bouchnov, as well as performances by consolidated ensembles such as Vespres d'Arnadí, directed by Dani Espasa, in Sant Felip Neri. Tickets for the concerts will go on sale on Tuesday, March 11 at 10 am for performances between March 19 and 29, and on Wednesday, March 19 at the same time for concerts taking place between March 29 and April 11.