The theaters have not lowered the curtain in Barcelona. It’s not as if the Covid-19 coronavirus is no longer circulating, but everything is open in the capital of Catalonia. The opera, which takes place at the Grand Théâtre du Liceu, in the heart of La Rambla, is sold out. And the next one is already in rehearsal …
Tenor Francisco Vas gets tested every week. Like all soloists, he is under close medical supervision, lives in a bubble and goes out very little: “We do it by being happy, happy. The choir and the extras are always with the mask, but we don’t sing with it. So, we absolutely have to be well tested and sure that we don’t have anything”, he explains to the magazine “We, the Europeans” (replay).
“I live exactly the opposite of what is asked of us in France”
The director of this mythical place wanted to set an example, because culture is, for him, a remedy for anxiety, but only one contagion and the entire opera house would be closed: “So that the viewer is safe here, when someone is seated, there is no one in front or behind, neither to the right nor to the left, says Valenti Oviedo. It makes good sense to open theaters because they are safe. We reopened in September 2020 and have had no cases of Covid. “
It is luck of the tour of this opera given at the Liceu, if the French baritone Stéphane Degout is in Barcelona. A happy moment that he shares on his phone with his singing friends back in Paris: “I live exactly the opposite of what is asked of us in France, which is to avoid social contact and not to work. It’s going very well.” So good that many French people go there for a weekend of relaxation … and culture.
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