The Gran Teatre del Liceu announces an exceptional concert to welcome the New Year on January 4, 2026, featuring special performances by soprano Saioa Hernández and tenor Xabier Anduaga. For the first time, the Liceu Orchestra will share the stage with the Teatro La Fenice Orchestra from Venice, under the direction of the renowned Ricardo Frizza. An evening that becomes an emotional journey of great beauty and a true space for connection through music.
The Gran Teatre del Liceu announces its New Year’s Concert, an event that aims to become a highlight of the musical calendar, where tradition, emotion, and artistic excellence merge in a single gesture. The event, taking place on January 4, 2026, will feature two voices deeply cherished by the Theatre and its audience: Xabier Anduaga and Saioa Hernández, artists who have left a profound mark on recent Liceu seasons with their memorable performances.
In this inaugural edition, the event takes on a particularly symbolic dimension: for the first time, the Liceu Orchestra will share the stage with the Teatro La Fenice Orchestra from Venice, under the direction of the renowned Riccardo Frizza, creating a sonic and emotional bridge between two historic institutions united by a shared passion for opera and its universal language. This artistic collaboration and partnership between the Liceu and La Fenice, two emblematic opera houses in Barcelona and Venice—cities bathed by the Mediterranean—also symbolizes shared resilience after the fire disasters that affected them in the 1990s. Two theatres with over a century and a half of history now join forces in a musical dialogue full of complicity and forward-looking vision.
Frizza, recognized for his gestural elegance and deep knowledge of the Italian repertoire, will be the soul of this project, leading a single symphonic ensemble formed by both orchestras in a program that will highlight the richness of bel canto, the solemnity of the symphonic repertoire, and the luminous spirit characteristic of this season. The concert will feature special performances by two exceptional figures: Saioa Hernández and Xabier Anduaga, voices representing the new generation of international lyrical singing.
Hernández, gifted with a wide and highly dramatic voice capable of elevating every phrase with truly theatrical intensity, has conquered the most prestigious stages in Europe. Anduaga, for his part, is one of the most admired tenors of his generation, with a bright vocal line, refined phrasing, and magnetic stage presence.
Together, under Frizza’s inspired baton, they will bring to life a program combining opera excerpts and pieces characteristic of this period, celebrating the union, memory, and future of these sister institutions.
An evening that becomes an emotional journey of great beauty and a true space for connection through music. Xabier Anduaga and Saioa Hernández, two outstanding national voices with international projection. Xabier Anduaga, one of today’s most promising international tenors, has been acclaimed at the world’s most prestigious opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Opéra de Paris, Opera di Roma, Staatsoper Berlin, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
The 2025/26 season will be marked by his highly anticipated debut in the title role of Werther at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in May 2026. At the Liceu, audiences have also enjoyed Anduaga’s virtuosity as Alfredo Germont in Verdi’s La traviata and alongside Nadine Sierra as Elvino in Bellini’s La sonnambula, two major highlights of last season that left a lasting impression on the Liceu audience. Previously, he performed Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and debuted at the Theatre in the recital Del dolor a la esperanza, both during the 2020-2021 season. In addition to his striking stage presence, Anduaga has received the 2021 International Opera Award for Best Young Singer, the 2021 Ópera XXI Award for Best Young Artist, the 2021 Ópera Actual Award, and the RNE El ojo crítico Award.
Saioa Hernández is one of the most sought-after voices by the world’s leading theatres and orchestras, including Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, Berliner Staatsoper, Covent Garden, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Real Madrid, and the Berlin Philharmonic. She has established a special bond with Liceu audiences through exemplary performances in some of her repertoire’s most notable roles. A major highlight of the season is her return to the title role in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda in February 2026, the role with which she debuted at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in the 2018/19 season. Since then, she has captivated Liceu audiences as Leonora in Verdi’s Il trovatore (2022-2023), Amelia in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera (2023-2024), and last season dazzled as Donna Leonora in Verdi’s La forza del destino and in the title role of Madama Butterfly. She has been awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts (2021) and the Lyric Oscar for Best Soprano of the Year (2021). In 2022, she won the I Premio Talía de las Artes Escénicas 2023 for Best Female Lyric Performer. Additionally, Saioa has received the 2023 Teatro Real Award and has won prestigious singing prizes including Manuel Ausensi, Jaume Aragall, and Vincenzo Bellini.