Summer is synonymous with beach, sea, and outdoor plans. But it is also synonymous with a cultural program that doesn't stop and keeps the city alive throughout the months. Two concepts that the 'Clàssica a la platja' concert series, which begins this Wednesday on Barcelona's Sant Sebastià beach, combines to offer a free tasting open to the public of the best symphonic music by major ensembles such as the Barcelona Symphony and National Orchestra of Catalonia (OBC) or the Liceu symphony orchestra, as well as the choirs of the Palau de la Música Catalana.
The concerts, jointly organized by the city's three major cultural institutions ---L'Auditori, the Liceu, and the Palau de la Música Catalana, under the umbrella of Barcelona Obertura, an initiative resulting from the collaboration of the three institutions to promote the Catalan capital through classical music--- and with the support of the Barcelona City Council, attracted almost 30,000 people. This year's concerts, which will take place on Wednesday, July 9, and Thursday, July 10, will pay tribute to the quintessential Catalan musical, Mar i Cel, as well as to one of the most acclaimed operas, Carmen.
The first concert will be marked by an emotional tribute to the melodies that have marked several generations and still move audiences today, with the song to freedom and peace between peoples that Mar i Cel represents. However, the concert will open at 9 p.m. with the interpretation of another musical work also inspired by a book, Felix Mendelssohn's song A Midsummer Night's Dream, created from William Shakespeare's text. The orchestra and choir of the Gran Teatre del Liceu will subsequently offer a selection of song fragments from Mar i Cel, in a symphonic version, from the mythical Himne dels pirates to emotional compositions such as Per què he plorat. Songs composed by Albert Guinovart, a pianist who will also participate in the performance, in a special evening where the sand of Sant Sebastià beach will become a large open-air auditorium.
The concert on the beach will be one of the last opportunities to see the sails of the successful ship of Mar i Cel, as the company definitively bids farewell this Sunday with a final performance at the Teatre Victòria, the venue where this musical was born at the end of the last century. Thus, Dagoll Dagom definitively lowers the curtain on its artistic journey, after five decades on stage. Since the premiere of Mar i Cel in 1988, more than one and a half million spectators have been moved by the impossible love of Saïd and Blanca. In fact, during its fourth revival in September 2024, more than 337,000 spectators have filled the Teatre Victòria throughout the 300 performances of the musical based on the eponymous work by Àngel Guimerà.
The next night of 'Clàssica a la platja', on Thursday, July 10, will feature one of the great operas in history, Carmen. Through the music of Georges Bizet, which is also inspired by a novel ---that of the Frenchman Prosper Mérimée---, the opera follows the story of a determined protagonist who is not afraid of society's strict impositions and chooses to live freely. The compositions will be performed by the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC), with soprano Mira Alkhovik as the protagonist, accompanied by the Palau chamber choir and performers such as mezzo-soprano Silvia Tro Santafé, bass-baritone Marko Mimica, and tenor Marcelo Puente. This selection of melodies from Carmen will be preceded by Tres danzas españolas by Enric Granados.
These concerts also seek to bring music closer to all audiences, offering a reserved space for people with reduced mobility, as well as vibrating backpacks for people with deafness or hearing impairment. In addition, and with the aim of bringing music to vulnerable groups who cannot enjoy music directly on the beach, the Petits and Mitjans choirs of the Orfeó Català will bring the best melodies to nursing homes, and the Cor Infantil will travel to the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, with a special concert for patients, family members, and healthcare staff.