On 10 June 2023, the Gran Teatre del Liceu Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Josep Pons, made its first appearance at the Opéra Bastille in Paris with a concert performance of Béla Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle. The event formed part of the Liceu’s 175th-anniversary celebrations and its programme of international development.
The concert completed an exchange between the Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Opéra national de Paris, begun the previous September when the Paris Opera Orchestra visited Barcelona under Gustavo Dudamel to perform Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. The partnership reflected the close relationship between two of Europe’s leading opera institutions and offered the Liceu Orchestra an opportunity to present its artistic development to a Parisian audience.
The performance featured Sir Bryn Terfel as Bluebeard and Iréne Theorin as Judith, both making their role debuts. With a libretto by Béla Balázs, the one-act opera condenses an intense psychological journey into approximately one hour, combining Wagnerian influence with the rhythms, inflections and musical traditions of the Hungarian language.
French critics responded enthusiastically to Josep Pons’s conducting and to the orchestra’s performance. Concertclassic praised his ability to establish an atmosphere of persistent unease from the opening pianissimo, while preserving the clarity and transparency of Bartók’s rich orchestration and revealing its many subtle shades of colour. The review also highlighted the flexibility and precision of the Liceu Orchestra’s individual sections.
Olyrix described Josep Pons as the principal architect of the performance, emphasising his energy, precision, clarity and fluency. The positive reception confirmed Bluebeard’s Castle as an ideal work through which to present the distinctive sound and artistic maturity achieved by the Liceu Orchestra.
The debut at the Opéra Bastille marked an important milestone in the international development of the musical project launched in 2012, bringing the orchestra to one of Europe’s most prestigious opera stages with a score demanding exceptional orchestral colour and dramatic control.