Orchestra

For nearly 170 years of history, the Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu has been conducted by some of the greatest maestros, from Arturo Toscanini to Erich Kleiber, from Otto Klemperer to Hans Knappertsbusch, from Bruno Walter to Fritz Reiner, Richard Strauss, Alexander Glazunov, Ottorino Respighi, Pietro Mascagni, Igor Stravinsky, Manuel de Falla, and Eduard Toldrà, up to the present day with Riccardo Muti and Kirill Petrenko.

It has been the protagonist of the premieres of the great operatic repertoire on the Iberian Peninsula, from the Baroque period to the present day, and throughout its history it has also devoted special attention to Catalan lyrical creation.

It made its debut in 1847 with a symphonic concert conducted by Mariano Obiols, with the first opera being Donizetti’s Anna Bolena. Since then, it has performed continuously throughout all the theatre’s seasons.

On the international stage, notable highlights include the Concert for Peace and Human Rights, organized by the Onuart Foundation and broadcast from the United Nations headquarters in Geneva on December 9, 2017.

After the 1999 reconstruction, the principal conductors have been Bertrand de Billy (1999–2004), Sebastian Weigle (2004–2008), Michael Boder (2008–2012), and, since September 2012, Josep Pons.

Photo session

Watch on Liceu Òpera + the making of the photo session with members of the Liceu Orchestra and Choir, created by Igor Studio (Igor Cortadellas).

Watch the session