macbeth

A journey through the imaginary of Jaume Plensa in the Macbeth opera

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With Jaume Plensa as artistic director, Verdi’s opera Macbeth premieres on February 16 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

This was already announced by Richard Wagner when he coined the term “Gesamtkunstwerk”, referring to opera as a total work of art that integrates the six arts: painting, sculpture, music, poetry, dance and architecture.

The Wagnerian ideal seeks a fusion between all the participatory elements of opera, as Jaume Plensa, known for his multifaceted artistic vision, has done. The Catalan artist has taken on the challenge of directing the stage production of the opera Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

Verdi’s well-known opera premieres this February 16 under the direction of Josep Pons, with a powerful aesthetic and ritual presence of Jaume Plensa. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the artist confesses that “it is one of the most profound and interesting reflections on duality between body and soul, between abstraction and matter“.

Plensa affirms that “it is one of Shakespeare’s most mental plays, because we have all been Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and other characters in the play at one time or another“, which is addressed “to the deepest sense of the human being“. All in all, for Plensa, Macbeth represents a deeply introspective theatrical work that resonates with the universal human experience. He explains that each character in the play is a representation of diverse aspects of the human being, inviting the viewer to explore his or her own psyche through the operatic narrative.

“I wanted to make a completely mental opera, to see in each scene moments that are like us, we have all been characters in the piece at one time or another“. Through the costumes, with most costumes out of his time, working on the choreography with Antonio Ruiz and lighting with Urs Schönebaum, Jaume Plensa aims to bring the viewer a more spiritual vision of the work, capturing in the best possible way the journey through the imaginary characteristic of the sculptor. His goal is to take the viewer on a spiritual journey through the rich imaginary that characterizes his work as a sculptor.

Image of white, black, red and gold colored figurines
Image of white, black, red and silver colored figurines

Macbeth art direction mock-up

The opera has an exquisite cast formed by Luca Salsi, Željko Lučić, Erwin Schrott, Simón Orfila, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Gemma Coma-Alabert, Francesco Pio Galasso, Celso Albelo, Fabian Lara and David Lagares. With special enthusiasm, we will meet again with Sondra Radvanovsky, soprano who plays Lady Macbeth and of whom we remember her visit to ARCO Madrid 2021 on the occasion of the presentation of the poster of the Castell de Peralada Festival.

Photograph of four men and a woman smiling at the camera posing in front of a painting

From left to right, Oriol Aguilà, director of the Festival Castell de Peralada; Joan Matabosch, artistic director of the Teatro Real; Carlos Álvarez, baritone; Sondra Radvanovsky, soprano; and artist Jordi Bernadó, posing with one of his works exhibited at ARCO Madrid 2021.

Image of white, black and red figurines
Photograph of Jaume Plensa seated on a chair with a microphone in hand

Jaume Plensa selected works:

Jaume Plensa – Bartók
Jaume Plensa Tears
Jaume Plensa – SLUMBERLAND III

Jaume Plensa’s new doors at the Gran Teatre del Liceu are inaugurated

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“The letter seems to me a beautiful metaphor for society: a single letter is nothing; but together with others it can form words, concepts; this is the power of the community.” – Jaume Plensa

The Gran Teatre del Liceu inaugurated its 2022-2023 season on Monday with the new doors, or “Constel·lacions“, the work of sculptor Jaume Plensa, enhancing the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the historic Barcelona institution.

Photograph of two men posing in front of the Liceo gates

The artist Jaume Plensa together with Salvador Alemany, president of the Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu

The doors (stainless steel, 4 x 4 m) are inspired by two classics of Catalan culture: the architect Antoni Gaudí, and the painter Joan Miró, with his nearby Pla de la Boqueria mosaic, as well as the close relationship with the name of one of his most original series “Constel·lacions (1939)”.

Photograph of a man in front of the doors of the Liceo and next to a grand piano

“This dialogue between the past and the future I think gives us the key to the present: the contemporary gesture in the heart of society, embracing music with the word and the voice with writing“, said the artist yesterday at the opening ceremony in Las Ramblas.

Plensa intends to vindicate the diversity of the promenade with letters of nine alphabets engraved on the railings – intermingling Arabic, Latin or Chinese – that will reflect their moving shadows on the floor of the entrance, when the doors reach the light of the lamps of the portal.

Interior image of the doors of the Liceo

During the presentation of the doors, the Councilor for Culture, Natàlia Garriga, also expressed the importance of this work for the city: “I want to thank all the members of the Board of Trustees for accepting it so quickly, for seeing with such lucidity that this proposal would be key for the Liceu, but also for the Ramblas, Barcelona and Catalonia“. And she added that “having art within everyone’s reach means that the public can get to know and appreciate it. I am sure that these doors will awaken the love of art in many pedestrians, and in the spectators who pass through them to enjoy the opera in this important facility“.

For his part, the Deputy Mayor for Culture, Education, Science and Community of the Barcelona City Council, Jordi Martí, has emphasized above all the Liceu‘s commitment to “link with contemporary artists of the city and to do so in a total and decisive way, not just with a small gesture. Today we are opening three doors, but we will also be able to see Macbeth with stage direction by Jaume Plensa“. Martí insisted that the doors “improve the artistic environment of Las Ramblas” and thanked the artist for his “humble gesture and restraint because Constellations are integrated into the landscape and do not become an isolated work of art“.

The opening of the doors was also attended by Joan Francesc Marco, director general of the Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y la Música (INAEM) of the Ministry of Culture, who wanted to highlight the importance of this day: “As a lycee and as director general of INAEM I feel a great happiness because this work of the renowned Jaume Plensa adds even more value to the theater and the city of Barcelona“.

After the institutional speeches, the event continued with the first official opening of the doors while the Choir of the Gran Teatre del Liceu performed in Las Ramblas the Wagnerian piece “Freudig begrüß en wir die edle Halle” (Tannhäuser, act II), conducted by the choir director, Pablo Assante, and accompanied on the piano by David-Huy Nguyen-Phung. A piece from the second act of Tannhäuser that celebrates the entrance of the guests and that wants to be a symbolic and metaphorical gesture of doors that invite the public to enter and enjoy the universal language that is music.

Image of the interior of the Liceo
Image of the interior of the Liceo

“The alphabet represents a harmony that celebrates the great diversity of the world“, said Plensa. The president of the Liceu Foundation, Salvador Alemany, said that the sculptor’s work is “a gift that gives prestige to the Rambla and the Liceu“.

It is not the first time that the sculptor has a work near a cultural center of the city. Carmela, a four-meter face, half girl and half teenager, presides over the facade of the Palau de la Música. The artist, winner of the 2012 National Plastic Arts Award, has projected his well-known faces in other capitals such as Madrid (“Julia“) or New York (“El alma del agua“).

Plensa will maintain his relationship with the Liceu in the new season as the person in charge of the scenography of Verdi’s Macbeth, which will be premiered next February.

Image of the facade of the Liceo

Technical and operating elements

As for the technical details, these doors weigh about 500 kilograms each and migrate on a single shaft that is embedded in the start of the arch just above the capital of the pilasters. The convexity of the doors does not exceed the outer plane of the pilasters and makes the minimum passage under the open sheepfold about 3 m high. One of the characteristics of the structure is that the doors do not open laterally, but have a bottom-up opening movement. In this way, in addition to the physical sculpture, a game of dialogues with spaces, reflections and optical visions of light and shadow is also sought. Thus, all those who step on the floor of the Rambles will be able to walk on this carpet of shadows of the installation itself. The work is integrated without affecting any other past element previously incorporated into the facade of Oriol Mestres of 1874 and recovered in 2019.

Excerpts from Liceu, El País and La Vanguardia (“Plensa enriquece la fachada del Gran Teatre” and “Las puertas del Liceu no se abren ni se cierran, levitan”)

The new sculptural doors for the Liceu on its 175th anniversary by Jaume Plensa

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The doors that the Catalan artist Jaume Plensa has designed for the entrance of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in homage to music, Antoni Gaudí, Joan Miró and the “diversity” of Las Ramblas in Barcelona, join the celebration of the 175th anniversary of the inauguration of the Liceu.

Plensa said that with the lobby doors he wanted to pay homage to Gaudí’s grilles and Miró’s constellations, which is why he has named them “Constel·lacions“, as well as to the “artery of diversity” of Barcelona, which for him is Las Ramblas. “Constel·lacions” will be installed in the three arcades of the main entrance of the theater and will be integrated without affecting other elements previously incorporated into the facade of Oriol Mestres of 1874 and recovered in 2019.

Photograph of the facade of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona

Jaume Plensa’s doors to be incorporated at the entrance of the Liceu

Plensa stressed that the doors are a conglomerate of letters that grow, with the color of moonlight, and remarked that humanity is marked by language, and therefore, in his creation, he wanted to show “alphabets of many cultures“.

“You already know my world of texts and alphabets. I like to mix different cultures because I think we are very good when we are together, keeping our individuality and small differences, but how good we are when we are together! And I think these doors are a tribute to diversity, even more so in Las Ramblas, which is the artery of diversity in Barcelona“.

Jaume Plensa

Despite admitting that he hates doors, as well as everything that closes, the artist has remarked that the more he sees the design the more he likes it – the doors will open vertically – and believes that they have been a success. In addition, he has remarked that they will also serve to “dignify the area” in what he has defined as a gift from the Liceu to the city and become the new face of the theater. Asked if he fears that the doors may be damaged, he said that it will provide a finish that supports very well the restoration without complications.

These are “quite light” pieces, in the artist’s words, weighing some 500 kilograms each and with a thickness of 1 centimeter of steel, which gives them rigidity and lightness at the same time. The president of the Liceu, Salvador Alemany, and the theater’s artistic director, Víctor García de Gomar, are confident that the doors will be installed at the start of the 2022-2023 season, towards the end of September. They have cost about 750,000 euros – Plensa has not wanted to collect his fees -, of which 50% is assumed by ACS Foundation, 35% through Feder funds and the remaining 15% by the theater, as reported by Europa Press.

Excerpt from El Mundo

Image of the model of the doors of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona

The model of Plensa’s work for the Liceu | Photograph by FERRAN NADEU

“The doors presented two extraordinary challenges” adds Plensa. “One is the building itself, which everyone says is horrifying, but I think that when horror accumulates, it ends up being wonderful. I wouldn’t touch a comma of this building. I love the chandeliers at the entrance. And the second is that we are looking at an extraordinary work by Miró on Las Ramblas that I think has strongly marked many things in the city, including the tragic moment of the attack in the city, which ended right in front of the building“.

“In these «Constel·lacions» I wanted to pay tribute to the Liceu, to music, but also to think of an architect who has given us many days of glory in the city, Gaudí, and I chose the title precisely because of this world of Miró’s constellations, who is the one I especially want to pay tribute to” he added.

Excerpt from La Vanguardia

Photograph of Jaume Plensa with his model of the doors of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.

Plensa, with the model of his work for the Liceu | Photograph by FERRAN NADEU

Jaume Plensa – ALCHIMISTES I
Jaume Plensa – SLUMBERLAND II
Jaume Plensa – Verdi