Born in Buenos Aires in 1948, Ricardo Szwarcer was selected in an international competition to find a replacement for Borja Sitjà as director of the Grec Festival of Barcelona.
Szwarcer, who took his degree in Economic Science from the University of Buenos Aires, had become known thanks to his management of the Teatro San Martín, a first step towards taking over at the Teatro Colón, one of the best-known opera and dance theatres in Latin America, in 1986.He was appointed firstly as the theatre's administrative director (1982-1986) and later as its general manager (1986-1989), posts which enabled him to acquire considerable experience in the executive production of shows. It was during this period that Luciano Pavarotti first appeared in Argentina, performing in La Bohème, and a difficult opera version of Kurt Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny was produced and presented at the Luna Park venue in Buenos Aires.
In 1989, he settled in Europe, where he worked at the Opéra de Lille, firstly as production director, from 1990 to 1991, and later as artistic director, from 1991 to 1999. The theatre was closed for renovation works in 1998 and did not reopen again until 2003. It was during this period, in 1997, that the Opéra de Lille received a Victoires de la Musique award for the best French opera production, for Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande.
In London now, a new stage in Szwarcer's career saw him producing such shows as Brasil brasileiro, Loorin Mazel's Fidelio, with Georges Lavaudant as the set designer, and working with the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich on such productions as Verdi Requiem,Dmitri Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.
Brasil brasileiro was performed, precisely, at Barcelona Teatre Musical, and Szwarcer had already established links with the city when he worked with Borja Sitjà at the Arts Festival organised in 2004 on the occasion of the Universal Forum of Cultures.
With Szwarcer as director, the Grec Festival of Barcelona has opened up to productions from Asia at a time when this continent is flourishing in all spheres. Moreover, the period has seen a more prominent role given to dance,circus and family shows, whilst with other European festivals relations have also been strengthened. Szwarcer has also overseen a number of festival firsts:the production of a family opera show with opera theatres from all over Spain,for example, or a co-production with a Japanese theatre. However, the accent during this period has focused, above all, on seeking new audiences by presenting a varied festival programme with events ranging from family shows to concerts of avant-garde music.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1948, Ricardo Szwarcer was selected in an international competition to find a replacement for Borja Sitjà as director of the Grec Festival of Barcelona.
Szwarcer, who took his degree in Economic Science from the University of Buenos Aires, had become known thanks to his management of the Teatro San Martín, a first step towards taking over at the Teatro Colón, one of the best-known opera and dance theatres in Latin America, in 1986.He was appointed firstly as the theatre's administrative director (1982-1986) and later as its general manager (1986-1989), posts which enabled him to acquire considerable experience in the executive production of shows. It was during this period that Luciano Pavarotti first appeared in Argentina, performing in La Bohème, and a difficult opera version of Kurt Weill's The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny was produced and presented at the Luna Park venue in Buenos Aires.
In 1989, he settled in Europe, where he worked at the Opéra de Lille, firstly as production director, from 1990 to 1991, and later as artistic director, from 1991 to 1999. The theatre was closed for renovation works in 1998 and did not reopen again until 2003. It was during this period, in 1997, that the Opéra de Lille received a Victoires de la Musique award for the best French opera production, for Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande.
In London now, a new stage in Szwarcer's career saw him producing such shows as Brasil brasileiro, Loorin Mazel's Fidelio, with Georges Lavaudant as the set designer, and working with the cellist Mstislav Rostropovich on such productions as Verdi Requiem,Dmitri Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.
Brasil brasileiro was performed, precisely, at Barcelona Teatre Musical, and Szwarcer had already established links with the city when he worked with Borja Sitjà at the Arts Festival organised in 2004 on the occasion of the Universal Forum of Cultures.
With Szwarcer as director, the Grec Festival of Barcelona has opened up to productions from Asia at a time when this continent is flourishing in all spheres. Moreover, the period has seen a more prominent role given to dance,circus and family shows, whilst with other European festivals relations have also been strengthened. Szwarcer has also overseen a number of festival firsts:the production of a family opera show with opera theatres from all over Spain,for example, or a co-production with a Japanese theatre. However, the accent during this period has focused, above all, on seeking new audiences by presenting a varied festival programme with events ranging from family shows to concerts of avant-garde music.
