50th anniversary of the debut of Montserrat Caballe at Gran Teatre del Liceu

Montserrat Caballé made her debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and in Spain on Monday 7 January 1962, in Richard Strauss’ Arabella.

This concert celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Liceu debut of the great soprano from Barcelona. Her emotional and professional relationship with the theatre was soon consolidated by her performances as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. These were the first steps in a long and close partnership that has included many of her most seminal interpretations: Norma, Roberto Devereux, Maria  Stuarda, Lucrezia Borgia, Il Pirata, Aida, Un ballo in maschera, I vespri sicilianni, and others. The Liceu awarded her its Gold Medal in 1966 and now rounds off this sincere tribute with an exhibition in the Foyer recalling the most significant and memorable events in an exceptional joint biography.

Hotel 1898, located in Las Ramblas, is the nearest hotel to Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Gran Teatre del Liceu -> La Rambla, 51 | Ciutat Vella

Barcelona: November music

This November sees soloists dominating the classical music billing at the city’s concert halls. Guitarists, cellists, flautists and harpists are just some of the star attractions on the programme.

The Palau de la Música is to play host to performances from the guitarists Manuel González, Manuel Barrueco and Àlex Garrobé on 23 November.

The cellist Beatriz Blanco, the winner of the 2010 Primer Palau, will be performing works by Cassadó and Elgar in a concert on 24 November, accompanied by the JONC Philharmonic.

The OBC will be performing Mozart’s Concert for Flute, Harp and Orchestra, accompanied by Frauke Oesmann and Magdalena Barrera, from 18 to 20 November, it will be showcasing Tchaikovsky’s most romantic side.

And the Fura dels Baus are bringing the Liceu a production of György Ligeti’s Le Gran Macabre, an outstanding opera in the contemporary lyrical repertory. Halfway between comedy and tragedy, this work born of the theatre of the absurd has a highly unique staging.

The whitest party: Sensation Barcelona

After a spectacular world premiere with an audience of 40,000 in Amsterdam in July, the new edition is going to fill the Palau Sant Jordi with people dressed in white and ready to dance to this new festival concept.

On the 8th of October 2011, Sensation will make its return to Barcelona. The venue, Palau Sant Jordi, will be transformed into Innerspace, making it the second city to host Sensation’s latest theme after the premiere in the Amsterdam Arena.

Sensation started in Amsterdam in the year 2000. Since then, over 1,5 million visitors in seventeen countries have experienced what is arguably the world’s most spectacular dance and music phenomenon. Each year, Sensation tours the globe with a completely new show. Consistently taking the acclaimed theme ‘be part of the night, dress in white’ to new heights, Sensation’s aim is to bring a positive message to a growing global audience.

Barcelona will be dressing up in white with Sensation Innerspace, a new, exclusive event dedicated to dance music. Wally López, Sharam, Fedde Le Grand and Mr White are just some of the artists who will be bringing Barcelona the very best in electronic music at the moment. Máxima FM, the media partner for Sensation Barcelona, will broadcast the event.

Allocation near Palau Sant Jordi can be found at B-Hotel and Hotel Barcelona Universal.

La Mercè festivities 2011

La Mercè festivities (from 22 to 25 September), they will once again be offering a broad, varied programme featuring traditional activities, spectacles, shows and plenty of entertainment.

The Correfoc (fire run) is premiering a new Porta de l’Infern (Hell’s Gate), which will extend across Via Laietana, until it becomes a hell’s wall, to quote Xavier Cordomí, the artistic director of Tradicional.

Dance companies and contemporary dancers will be performing at Ciutadella park to the chimes of a travelling carillon, a very unusual instrument hailing from the city of Douai. What’s more, the Mercè Dansa display will once again be taking over the stage opposite the Cathedral.

The La Mercé parade is expected to be the largest ever, with participants joining in from all over Catalonia.

Ciutadella park is one of the main settings of La Mercè. During the day it becomes a Dance and Street-Theatre Park and during the night, the Lights Park, with shows making use of new technologies.

These two approaches meet in El Llac dels Cignes (Swan Lake), one of the star shows of the La Mercè, combining dance with spectacular screenings at the park’s fountain, among other surprises. This is a local production featuring over a hundred dancers, whose main figures come from the Mariinsky Theatre of St Petersburg, the guest city at this year’s La Mercè.

The music programme’s details are not yet out but most of the groups taking part have already been announced, with the venue being shared between BAM and Mercè Música.

Antònia Font, Javiera Mena, Mazoni, Els Pets, El Columpio Asesino, Fangoria, Antonio Carmona, Anímic, Astrud & Col·lectiu Brossa and Gràcia Power are just some of the groups who’ll be playing at the La Mercè festival.

As for the Pyromusical, which will conclude the festivities once again, this year tribute will be paid to the four Puig i Cadafalch columns.

Program BAM Festival 2011

Despite having a new artistic director, the BAM festival retains its essential spirit: every style of music and a fair share of local representatives.

From 22 to 24 September, one of the big attractions of the coming BAM will be Herman Dune. The French folk group has become a summer phenomenon thanks to the inclusion of the 2006 hit “I wish that I could see you soon” in a beer commercial.

This is not the first time the festival programme has included the creators of soundtracks for such ads. It did in 2009 with Billie Vision and The Dancers.

BAM has always been a platform for new groups. That means you’ll be able to see the new British Jazz sensation, Portico Quartet, and the young Canadian singer-songwriter Little Scream, in the style of Arcade Fire and The National.

As regards electronic music, it has been announced that Zomby will be taking part, bringing BAM a touch of British dubstep. And from the Dominican Republic, Rita Indiana y Los Misterios will be bringing a taste of electro-merengue beat.

The festival is clearly opting once more for home-grown music. Guillamino and Bedroom, two very different musicians, head the list of Barcelona talent.

::: BAM Festival 2011 :::

SonarKids: Creative Music & Experiences for children

After the success of the last two events, the 3rd SonarKids on Sunday 19 June isthe ideal finishing touch to Sónar 2011 to enjoy with all the family. SonarKids has a great deal of activities and creative experiences designed for parents and children to have fun and learn about different artistic disciplines by playing in a new and original way.

SonarKids presents a musical line-up fulll of top drawer shows, with performances by the Portuguese group Buraka Som Sistema, the renowned British dj and BBC Radio 1 presenter Gilles Peterson, the kiddie pop group Papa Topo, the indie pop group Polock, the stories sung by Barbara i Els Morenos, DJ Amarelo and the wizardry on the decks of the Pioneer Dj Kids.

The fun characters of Pintatelotu are the stars of the new SonarKids image. Pintatelotu offers children the opportunity to have fun and learn while they are playing and colouring in their gallery of characters. Are they monsters? aliens? animals?

More inf@: SonarKids website

Julio Iglesias at Gran Teatre del Liceu – Barcelona

After an absence from our city’s stages for more than ten years, Julio Iglesias is finally returning to Barcelona, making a grand entrance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

The artist will be giving two concerts (May 19 & May 22, 2011), where he will be performing some of the big hits that made him one of the ten most successful singers ever, having sold over three hundred million albums, after four decades on the stage, and recorded songs such as De niña a mujer, La vida sigue igual and Un canto a Galicia.

Gran Teatre del Liceu -> C/la Rambla, 51 – Ciutat Vella

IV Japan Weekend Barcelona

You can immerse yourself in the newest, latest Japanese youth culture, in other words all things manga, without leaving Barcelona. Japan Weekend, which is being held at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya this time around, offers you video games, anime, music and all kinds of competitions, from cosplay to karaoke and para para.

This year’s guests include the international cosplayer Lina Lau and the Esprit d’Air band. You will also find all kinds of workshops and activities for having a really good time.

It is the event dedicated to the world of manga and all aspects surrounding it. This translates into much anime and manga, video games, Japanese culture and tradition, superheroes, technology and cinema but above many activities, contests, games, courses, workshops, exhibitions and concerts.

All in 2 days for spectacular not to be bored a single second.

Palau de Congressos de Catalunya
Address: Av Diagonal, 661

Emergencia! 2011 – 3rd Independent Music Festival of Barcelona

From 6 pm in the afternoon until 12 at midnight for the two scenarios will center a selection of the most outstanding artists in the emergent music scene both national & international with proposals from the pop and rock as the experimental sounds.

For the third year running, Emergencia! becomes a showcase for upcoming sounds in independent music, going out on a limb for a series of new names. Fiera!, Ornamento y Delito, Caballo, Dotore, Me and the Bees, and Patrick Bower or Stranded Horse are all coming to the forefront, and Emergència! has chosen them to present to the public on the two stages at the CCCB.

19 February 2011 – Limited capacity
Admission fee: 7 €
Concessions for students, senior citizens and the unwaged: 5 €.
Free admission for Friends of the CCCB

SpongeBob, the musical in Barcelona

Have you every dreamt of seeing SpongeBob, alongside his friends Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks, Eugene Krabs and Squidward Tentacles, close-up? Well, now your dream’s come true, because they’re all coming over to the Palau Sant Jordi in a musical that will delight children.

SpongeBob SquarePants is an extremely energetic and optimistic sea sponge (although his appearance more closely resembles a kitchen sponge) who lives in a pineapple under the sea with his pet snail Gary, who meows like a cat. Although Gary only actually speaks in a few episodes, (mainly in “Sleepy Time” in Spongebob’s dream world, where Gary is portrayed as a librarian with an English accent) the characters have shown an ability to understand him. Living two houses down from SpongeBob is his best friend Patrick Star, a dim-witted yet friendly pink seastar who lives under a rock. Living between the two is Squidward Tentacles, an arrogant and egotistical octopus[2] who lives in an Easter Island moai and dislikes his neighbors (especially SpongeBob) for their child-like behavior. He enjoys playing the clarinet and painting self-portraits.

A creative team headed by Flipy were commissioned to bring this show, where children can interact with their favourite characters, to Barcelona. The show is based on a television episode called The Lost Episode: The Sponge Who Could Fly.

Place:  Palau Sant Jordi -> Pg Olímpic, 5
Date:  02/01/2011 & 03/01/2011

Next Page »