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Talk with Antoni Ros-Marbà
Wednesday, June 25 at 7:00 pm
Sala del Cor (entrance through the Box Office)
*Free activity, prior reservation required at:
+34 93 317 73 78 – [email protected]
On the occasion of the performances of Benjamin a Portbou at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in July, we invite you to attend a talk between Maestro Antoni Ros-Marbà and our president, Jaume Graell, centered on this new opera. Benjamin a Portbou is a commission by the Gran Teatre del Liceu to Maestro Antoni Ros-Marbà. Written in two acts and 13 scenes, based on the libretto by Anthony Carroll Madigan, it focuses on the life of the philosopher and literary critic Walter Benjamin.
Ros-Marbà sees composition as a fundamental pillar in his life; in fact, he composed before conducting. For him, writing this opera was an unfinished task in his long musical career. The opera’s libretto, penned by the scholar Tony Madigan, is a work of art with a literary language that demands to be set to music and staged, supported by the author’s profound knowledge of the life and work of Walter Benjamin (Berlin, 1892 – Portbou, 1940).
This is a semi-staged production by Playmodes, the audiovisual research studio from the Girona region, whose creative work — immersive experiences, projection mapping, lighting, digital scenography, and sound design — will help us visually tell the story of the final chapter of this illustrious philosopher, literary critic, translator, and essayist; a sensitive idealist and fighter in pursuit of a free Europe, yet at the same time a victim of a world that pursued him with hostility.
Antoni Ros Marbà is one of the most prominent orchestra conductors in the Spanish musical scene. Trained at the Superior Conservatory of Music of Barcelona, he furthered his studies with masters such as Eduard Toldrà, Sergiu Celibidache, and Jean Martinon. He has served as conductor of the RTVE Symphony Orchestra, the Barcelona City Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Spain, and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. He has also been a professor at the Liceu Conservatory and principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic of Galicia until 2013.
He has collaborated with major international festivals and orchestras, as well as with Joan Manuel Serrat on iconic albums such as Mediterráneo. In 1978, he was invited by Herbert von Karajan to conduct the Berlin Philharmonic. His recordings include zarzuela titles like Doña Francisquita and La verbena de la Paloma. He has been awarded the National Music Prize and the Creu de Sant Jordi.