The Board of Trustees of the Gran Teatre del Liceu has awarded the Gold Medals of the Gran Teatre del Liceu to Josep Pons, Àlex Ollé, Javier Camarena, Marina Abramović, Hèctor Parra, Fundació Òpera de Catalunya, SANTANDER and Fundación Santander, Anna Maleras and Joan Uriach. The Gold Medal is the highest distinction of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, granted to acknowledge the work and dedication of individuals or institutions in the cultural sphere. Prestige, international outreach, and contribution to operatic culture are particularly valued.
The Board of Trustees of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, led by its president Salvador Alemany, has today awarded the Gold Medals of the Gran Teatre del Liceu to conductor Josep Pons, singer Javier Camarena, artist Marina Abramović, stage director Àlex Ollé, composer Hèctor Parra, dancer and choreographer Anna Maleras, and the organisation Òpera de Catalunya. In addition, a Gold Medal has been awarded posthumously to Joan Uriach and another in recognition of patronage to the bank SANTANDER and Fundación Santander.
The award ceremony took place on Monday, November 17 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and was attended by the award recipients —with the exception of Ms. Abramović, who excused her attendance due to professional commitments— as well as by President Salvador Alemany; General Director Valentí Oviedo; Artistic Director Víctor Garcia de Gomar; the Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández Almodóvar; the Director General of Cultural Promotion and Libraries, Xavier Fina; Barcelona City Council’s Councillor for Culture, Xavier Marcé; and the Deputy for Culture of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Aïda Llauradó. The ceremony was presented and hosted by journalist Albert Galceran.
These awards are the highest honorary distinction granted by the Institution. Since their creation, the medals have been awarded with the aim of highlighting the work, dedication and activity carried out by individuals, institutions or groups within different cultural fields, giving priority to prestige, international projection and the recognition of culture and, more specifically, of the Gran Teatre del Liceu as a benchmark in the operatic sphere.
This year, the merits are defined across nine categories: artistic, vocal, institutional, service or special dedication, philanthropy, patronage, dance, composition, and visual arts. In all these fields, the awardees have worked at an artistic or professional level of exceptional quality, providing outstanding or eminent services that clearly make them deserving of this distinction.
With the awarding of the Artistic Gold Medal to Josep Pons, the Liceu wishes to honour his thirteen-year tenure at the helm of the Orchestra and acknowledge his fundamental contribution to the country’s musical and cultural excellence. The Theatre highlights his key role in consolidating the Liceu’s musical project, giving it a unique identity, raising its artistic level, and earning recognition from both the public and critics.
The Vocal Gold Medal awarded to Javier Camarena recognises his readiness, availability and affection for the Liceu. A participant in the Francesc Viñas Competition in the 2004/05 edition, he made his house debut in the 2012/13 season with L’elisir d’amore, and has since returned with titles such as Maria Stuarda, Rigoletto, La fille du régiment, I puritani, Lucia di Lammermoor, Die Zauberflöte, La cenerentola, and La traviata. This season, he will once again captivate Liceu audiences with L’elisir d’amore. His voice has been acclaimed worldwide, performing an extensive repertoire and winning audiences over with its exquisite vocal quality and interpretative finesse.
With the awarding of the Special Dedication Gold Medal to Àlex Ollé, the Theatre recognises his extensive and acclaimed international career in the creation of operatic productions, premiering more than thirty works. Over the past four years as Artist in Residence, he has contributed notable productions such as La bohème, Pelléas et Mélisande, Il trovatore, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. His commitment to promoting new creation and nurturing emerging talent in operatic stage direction, particularly as mentor of the Òh!pera project, is also highly valued.
With the Gold Medal for Visual Arts awarded to Marina Abramović, the Liceu acknowledges her key role in redefining contemporary art since the 1970s. Considered the mother of performance art, her conceptual and radical work explores the relationship between artist and audience, the limits of the body and the possibilities of the mind, creating transformative experiences that have profoundly shaped contemporary art and pedagogy. Abramović, the creator of the drawings specially commissioned for the Liceu’s upcoming season book, is the visual artist of the artistic programme and will present one of her most daring and provocative works, Balkan Erotic Epic, on stage in January.
The Liceu awards the Gold Medal for Composition to Hèctor Parra for his career in contemporary musical creation and his special dedication to the operatic genre, with the premiere of eight operas presented in Europe and the United States. With more than a hundred premiered works, his compositional discourse is grounded in sound creation through electronic resources. He is one of the most internationally renowned Catalan composers, distinguished with awards such as the INAEM Musical Creation Award (2002) and the National Culture Award of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2017), among others. The Liceu has presented two of his operas: Hypermusic Prologue (2019–20) and Orgia (2023–24).
The Institutional Gold Medal is awarded to the Fundació Òpera de Catalunya for its contribution to the promotion, outreach, and dissemination of opera in Catalonia. With a forty-year trajectory, the foundation guarantees the continuity and growth of an operatic programme throughout the territory, promoting the creation, production, exhibition, communication, and dissemination of the lyric repertoire. It offers an accessible opera season comprising four titles each year, reaching a network of 13 cities and showcasing future generations of opera singers.
With the awarding of the Gold Medal for Patronage, the Liceu honours SANTANDER bank and the Santander Foundation for their social commitment and sustained collaboration in the promotion of culture. Their support for the Theatre’s audiovisual dissemination and their aim to bring culture and art closer to all audiences are highlighted, alongside a clear commitment to technological innovation and digital formats.
The Gold Medal for Dance awarded to Anna Maleras recognises her work in promoting contemporary dance in Catalonia. Trained in classical and Spanish dance with Joan Magrinyà and Emma Maleras, she was part of the Liceu ballet company and has contributed to opening up the field of dance in the country. A choreographer, teacher, and advocate, she is recognised for her career and pedagogical dedication, and has received the Gold Medal of the City of Barcelona, among other distinctions.
The Gran Teatre del Liceu posthumously awards the Gold Medal for Philanthropy to Mr. Joan Uriach, in recognition of his affection for and philanthropic commitment to the Liceu and to Catalan culture in general. A businessman and patron with a strong artistic and cultural sensibility, he stood out for his close ties with the business, social, and cultural fabric of Barcelona, and for his active involvement in key cultural institutions of the country. His integrative vision and commitment to the development of culture—and opera in particular—have left a valuable legacy, which also earned him the Creu de Sant Jordi in 1987.