Salvador Alemany closes a ten-year period at the head of the Board of Trustees of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation, which this week has appointed Helena Guardans Cambó as the new president of the institution, the first woman to assume this responsibility. The handover marks the end of a decade in which Alemany has worked to consolidate the Theatre's solvency and to place the artistic project back at the center. Since his arrival in October 2016, the Liceu has gone from managing a financial debt of 20 million euros to closing ten years of economic balance, with a budget that has grown from 46 to 56.5 million euros.
During his mandate, the Theatre has also expanded its artistic activity, strengthened patronage, and worked to reach new audiences. Artistic activity has grown by 30%, up to 50 shows and 236 performances in the 2025/26 season, while the Liceu achieves an average occupancy of 90% and has reached 290,000 spectators in one season. In parallel, initiatives such as LiceuAprèn, LiceuApropa, or the Under35 community have reinforced the educational, social, and intergenerational dimension of the institution.
Alemany thus leaves a Liceu with a more solid economic base, a greater capacity to generate its own resources, and a more open outlook towards the future. The Liceu Mar project, which has received 55 candidacies in the international competition and already has five finalist teams, precisely represents this desire to prepare the institution for future generations. Now, Helena Guardans takes on the challenge of giving continuity to this stage and facing new objectives, among which are preserving artistic excellence, strengthening international projection, and continuing to transform an almost bicentennial institution.