On 3 November 2025, Josep Pons received the Ópera Actual 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising more than four decades of artistic work and his contribution to the development of opera and some of Spain’s leading musical institutions.
The award ceremony took place at the Círculo del Liceo in Barcelona, bringing together representatives of opera houses, festivals, foundations, artists and professionals from the country’s operatic community. Josep Pons was unable to attend because of professional commitments, and the award was accepted on his behalf by Valentí Oviedo, General Director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Established in 2002, the Ópera Actual Awards annually recognise an outstanding artistic career, the work and legacy of an institution and one of the most promising young voices in opera. As the only Spanish-language magazine devoted exclusively to opera and zarzuela, Ópera Actual has become one of the leading platforms for information, criticism and discussion of the operatic world.
The award celebrated a career defined by the creation and transformation of major orchestral projects. In 1985, Josep Pons founded the Teatre Lliure Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble that played a decisive role in promoting contemporary music and Catalan and Spanish musical heritage. He was also the founding conductor of the National Youth Orchestra of Catalonia, before serving as Music Director of the Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, the Spanish National Orchestra and, since 2012, the Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Ópera Actual particularly highlighted his ability to develop orchestras through long-term artistic planning. At the Liceu, this work has resulted in the renewal and expansion of the orchestra, the consolidation of a distinctive sound and the achievement of a level capable of meeting some of the greatest challenges of the operatic and symphonic repertoire.
During his fourteen years at the Barcelona opera house, Josep Pons has conducted major works by Mozart, Wagner, Debussy, Berg, Britten, Shostakovich, Puccini, Verdi and Janáček, among many others. His tenure culminates during the 2025/26 season with Verdi’s Falstaff and Gustav Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 8.
The award also recognised an extensive recording career, developed especially with Harmonia Mundi, which has played an important role in the international promotion of music by Manuel de Falla, Enrique Granados, Isaac Albéniz, Frederic Mompou, Joaquín Rodrigo and other composers from the Spanish musical tradition.
In the same edition, the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía received the institutional award during its twentieth-anniversary season, while soprano Montserrat Seró was recognised as the most promising young artist.
Through this distinction, Ópera Actual honoured a career built on rigour, a strong sense of public service and the conviction that the growth of a musical institution can only be achieved through sustained work, trust and a shared commitment with its musicians.