Gran Teatre del Liceu and Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHub) produce Òh!Pera, an artistic proposal that you can see between 12 and 14 July as part of the Grec 2024 Festival of Barcelona which involves new talents from the city and educational centres, in a commitment to the protagonists of the Barcelona stage world of tomorrow. They have written, composed and staged three contemporary micro-operas: Eliza, Azul como una naranja and Contradir la nit.

Òh!Pera is not a new project, but was born three seasons ago to be a gateway to the world of opera for young creative talents. Composers, librettists, stage directors, singers, musicians, lighting designers, students from design schools…. They have all been invited to create three contemporary operas, each lasting thirty minutes, which will be performed on a single evening in three unusual halls at Gran Teatre del Liceu. Àlex Ollé, artist in residence, has been the artistic director of this project.

Eliza tells the story of a woman who discovers that her partner is an artificial intelligence capable of controlling her thoughts. It is a musical composition by Ferran Cruixent with a libretto by Pau Miró, stage direction by Pol Roig, space, costume and video design by the students of Elisava, Barcelona’s Faculty of Design and Engineering, and lighting by the students of the Institut del Teatre, with the collaboration of Fabra i Coats. You can see it in the Foyer.

It continues through the theatre and, in the stage box, you will find the performance space of Azul como una naranja and the cosmonaut protagonist, a Soviet citizen who witnesses the extinction of the Soviet Union from space. Guillem Palomar composed the music, Laura Ferrero wrote the libretto and Ester Guntín (author of the choreography Quiso negro, which can also be seen at the Grec) directed the show. The lighting is once again the work of the students of the Institut del Teatre and the design of the space, the costumes and the video by BAU, Centro Universitario de Artes y Diseño.

Finally, in Contradir la nit (Mestres Cabanes Hall) you will accompany a couple on a journey through the darkest and most rogue Barcelona. Montserrat Lladó provides the music, Martí Sales is in charge of the libretto and the students of the Institut del Teatre are in charge of the lighting. The design of the space, the costumes and the video, finally, is the work of EINA, Centro Universitario de Diseño y Arte.

The project, promoted in this third edition by Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Department of Culture and Creative Industries of the Barcelona City Council through Disseny Hub Barcelona (DHub), aims to encourage experimentation and learning among young students of different design disciplines in the city through a real experience of operatic creation.

If you don’t want to miss Òh!Pera, come to the Gran Teatre del Liceu, but first check the website for information on the proposal..