The Third Ibero-American Meeting of Theatres, organized by Ópera Latinoamérica (OLA), Ópera XXI and the Gran Teatre del Liceu, will take place on April 6, 7 and 8 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. It will be the first time that the forum has been held in person, after two streaming editions due to the pandemic.

In times of profound change, this international meeting of professionals from the sector will cover the main challenges of the genre in technological, environmental, social and organizational matters, with the participation of international specialists from inside and outside the operatic activity.

At the end of the forum, an agenda will be formulated for the coming years that will delve into the potential of lyrical institutions to contribute to the artistic, creative and social development and growth of the communities in which they are based.

Barcelona will become the world capital of opera in the next few days. More than 60 theaters and lyrical organizations from Spain and Latin America will meet in the Catalan capital, between April 6 and 8, at the third Ibero-American Theater Meeting, the first to be held in person after two first online editions due to of the pandemic.

The forum, organized by Ópera XXI, Ópera Latinoamérica (OLA) and the Gran Teatre del Liceu –coinciding with the events of its 175th anniversary– will address the most important challenges that lyrical institutions face today and will mark the strategic lines to work in matters such as sustainability, digitization, public-private partnerships, the relations of theater institutions with their community and new audiences.

In a historical moment marked by different social, health and humanitarian crises and by a world in constant progress, innovation and technification, cultural institutions must continue promoting the necessary transformation to play their essential role within the community, represent and promote the highest human values, reinforce its commitment to creation and artists and continue working on its vocation to be increasingly open and committed institutions.

Photo: Antoni Bofill.

The opening ceremony of this Third Ibero-American Meeting of Theaters will take place in the Saló del Cent of the Barcelona City Council on Wednesday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m., with the participation of Jordi Martí, sixth deputy mayor and director of the Department of Culture ; Salvador Alemany, president of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation; Andrés Rodríguez, vice president of Ópera Latinoamérica and Oriol Aguilà, president of Ópera XXI and director of the Peralada Festival.

The four thematic days of the Third Ibero-American Meeting of Theaters – which will take place between April 7 and 8 – seek to deepen and respond to the challenges and needs of the genre, in an increasingly heterogeneous and changing context.

With interventions by professionals from the opera sector and other disciplines –such as the fashion designer María Lafuente; the co-founder and editorial director of Filmin, Jaume Ripoll; or the marketing expert and author of “Emotional Communication”, Eduardo Lazcano– aspects such as artistic activity and audiences in a new cultural era will be addressed; new languages ​​and technological tools; the path towards institutions that are increasingly aware of caring for the environment, in addition to the promotion and creation of business and patronage alliances.

Foyer in the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Photo: Antoni Bofill.

On Friday, April 8, starting at 4:30 p.m., the foyer of the Gran Teatre del Liceu will host the presentation of the conclusions of the meeting and the reading of the “Declaration of Barcelona”, which will mark the organizational, social and artistic ideal of the theatres, seasons and festivals for the future. Participating in this presentation will be the president of Ópera XXI, Oriol Aguilà; the Vice President of OLA, Andrés Rodríguez, the General Director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Valentí Oviedo, and the Executive Director of OLA, Alejandra Martí.

During the days of the Third Ibero-American Theater Meeting, speakers and participants will have the opportunity to enjoy some of the most important cultural events that the city offers, such as “Symphony” at Caixa Forum, the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy – conceived by Marc Minkowski and Ivan Alexandre– at the Gran Teatre del Liceu or Verdi’s “Requiem” at the Palau de la Música Catalana.