The Gran Teatre del Liceu is one of the biggest European opera houses and one of the most famous and beautiful attractions in Barcelona. Performers like Domingo, Tebaldi and Pavarotti presented the most important classic oeuvres here.

The opera house is situated half way down La Rambla. It was founded by a Catalan businessman and the original building was solemnly opened on 4 April 1847. All kinds of shows were staged there and then as the years went by it began focusing on opera, dance and concerts. Throughout the years it has continued to fulfill its role as a culture and arts centre of Barcelona.

In 1994, the Auditorium and stage were totally destroyed by fire. It caused a great impact on Catalan society and Liceu’s very existence was called into question.

It was decided to rebuild and improve the emblematic building and also to put it under public ownership. The new theatre looked very much like its predecessor but was endowed with state-of-the-art technical equipment and enlarged by occupying neighboring blocks on the Rambla as well.

The new building opened its doors on 1999. The magnificent foyer and mirror hall were rebuilt according to the original. Below the concert hall, an auditorium with a restaurant was built as a break room for visitors.

The stage was equipped with modern technology. The curtain was renovated and designed by the artist Antoni Miró. The seats of the upper floors that did not allow visual contact to the stage. Also, the building was equipped with TV technology.

The geometry of the concert hall, while mostly maintaining the original design, was slightly adjusted according to modern concepts of acoustics. Nowadays the opera holds almost 2,300 seats on six floors. It is one of the largest in the world.

The artistic history of the Liceu reflects the history of opera in the Western World. At first the opera occupied a relatively small place on the bill, alongside numerous plays, concerts and variety shows.

However, the Liceu gradually evolved into a prestigious opera house. The first opera performed there was  Donizetti’s Anna Bolena – a sign of the taste for bel canto and contemporary Italian Romantic drama, including works by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi and others which have remained in the repertoire ever since (Verdi is the most frequently staged composer).

French opera was also popular, both the now-forgotten composers of grand opera (Auber, Meyerbeer and Halévy) and later French composers (such as Gounod, Bizet, Massenet and Saint-Saëns), whose works are still performed nowadays.

Today the opera house is publicly-owned (by the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Provincial Council and the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) and administered by the Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu which, in addition to the aforementioned bodies, incorporates the Patronage Council and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu (the old society of owners).

The main goal of the Gran Teatre del Liceu is to create works of art that are using music as a primary language and the spreading of this art to the widest possible public.Their main tool for achieving it is the artistic programme defines in the ¨Programme Contract¨ between the government institutions and the theatre.

From the seats of the Liceu the audience can enjoy the very finest operas, performances by the most distinguished dance companies and concerts by the world´s leading artists.The Liceu offers culture for everyone!