The Amateur Dramatic Society

In 1837, the 8th Line Battalion of the National Militia, born in the image and likeness of the French revolutionary militias, with the patrician Manuel Gibert Sans at the helm, in his capacity as commander, had to find its own funds for its operation. Despite the high income of most of its members, they were in a difficult economic time. Corporal Pedro Vives defended, in a meeting held in a luxurious home on Escudillers Street, the idea of ​​founding a small theater in which to hold concerts, dramatic performances and dances, with which to raise funds to, among other things, pay for the renewal of the worn-out uniforms. The idea was warmly welcomed by everyone.[3]​.

The battalion got to work to build a hall with a capacity of 600 seats, which would soon begin to compete with the Teatro de la Santa Cruz, which was the official theater of Barcelona. The inaugural function of the hall, located in the former convent of Montesión (on Montsió street, near Puerta del Ángel avenue), was on August 21, 1837. The militia was dissolved on October 14, 1838, after the country had calmed down after the riots and burning of convents of the Revolution of 1835.

The Philodramatic Lyceum of Montesión

To prevent the disappearance of the hall, which was beginning to have its audience, Manuel Gibert proposed the constitution of the Liceo Filodramático de Montesión. The new company was authorized by the Civil Governor of Barcelona. The purpose of the new entity was, on the one hand, to promote musical education (hence the name Lyceum) and, on the other, the organization of stage performances of opera theater by the students.

The presence of the thriving Liceo Filodramático led the owners of the Teatro de la Santa Cruz to change its name to Teatro Principal "Teatro Principal (Barcelona)"). In 1838, the entity changed its name to Liceo Filarmónico Dramático de S.M. Queen Elizabeth II. The supporters of one or the other room were known as Crusados and Liceítas, the former welcoming Carlist and more traditional groups, while Liceítas were the liberal and moderate groups. In both cases, they were transversal social groups in which people from all social classes participated, as was the tradition in opera in Barcelona.[3]​.

The lack of space and the pressure from the Dominican nuns, former owners of the convent, who had recovered some rights that they had lost, and were demanding to return, motivated the Liceo Filarmónico Dramático de S.M. Queen Isabel II left the Convent of Montesión in 1848.

In exchange, he was granted the purchase of the Trinitarios Convent building, located in the center of Barcelona's Rambla. Immediately, work began on the demolition of this convent to build a new building capable of hosting all the activities of the Lyceum.

The first building of the Gran Teatro del Liceo

Unlike other European cities, where the monarchy was in charge of the construction and maintenance of opera theaters, in Barcelona the construction of the Gran Teatro del Liceo had to be done through the contributions of private shareholders, according to a structure similar to a commercial company. This fact conditioned even the structure of the new building, lacking, for example, a royal box.

Given the great fans in Barcelona, ​​the theater that was built had the largest capacity in Europe, and it remained so for more than a century. Even today, with the capacity reduced to half the initial capacity, but with the comfort of having all seats seated, the Liceo is the opera house with the largest capacity in all of Europe, except for more recent ones such as the Opera Bastille (2,703 seats).

The Gran Teatro del Liceo Society originated in 1837, but it was not until 1844 when Joaquim Gispert, driving partner of the Liceo Filarmónico de Montesión society, bought the old convent of the barefoot Trinitarians on the Rambla to build a new theater.[3]​.

The first architectural authorship remains some unknowns, but it is known that Joaquim Gispert, his son Frederic, who was an engineer, the master builder Francesc Batlle, Francesc d'Assís Soler, etc. were involved. but Miquel Garriga i Roca was the architect in charge of the construction of the Lyceum. The French set designer Charles-Antoine Cambon took part in the interior decoration. The works began on April 11, 1845, and the Theater was inaugurated on April 4, 1847.[3]​.

The architectural and social history of the building is turbulent and varied, reflecting the circumstances and variations of society at any given time.

The building was largely destroyed by the fire of 1861, saving, as in the following fire, the entrance and the hall of mirrors, known then as El Vergel which, together with the entrance from the Rambla, is the only thing that remains of the primitive theater.

The second Great Theater of the Liceo

After the fire of 1861, the managers of the Dramatic Philharmonic Lyceum of S.M. Queen Elizabeth II commissioned Joaquín de Gispert y de Anglí") with a project that would make the construction of the new building viable. This project provided for the creation of two entities: the Construction Society and the Auxiliary Construction Society. The shareholders of the first obtained, in exchange for their financial contributions, the right to use in perpetuity some boxes and seats in the future theater. On the other hand, those of the second contributed the rest of the necessary money in exchange for the ownership of others. spaces of the building. The Auxiliary Construction Society would be the origin of the Círculo del Liceo The theater was rebuilt in just one year under the direction of Josep Oriol Mestres.

Until 1980, the building and the activities that took place in it were maintained entirely by the Gran Teatro del Liceo Society. In this year, the Gran Teatro del Liceu Consortium was built, in which the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the Society of the Gran Teatro del Liceu, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Ministry of Culture currently participate.[3]​.

The Principal Ballet of the Gran Teatro del Liceo (1966-1988)

The choreographer Joan Magrinyà fought for the Liceo dancers to acquire the status of an independent company, as in the case of the great European opera houses. And he got it. In 1966, the Titular Ballet of the Gran Teatro del Liceo was born, which performed both in the theater in the spring program and abroad. In 1977 Magrinyà retired and was succeeded by his collaborator Assumpta Aguadé.[4]​[3]​.

The current Lyceum building

Currently, after the legal reorganization that was agreed in 1994 to be able to face its rehabilitation, the Liceu is a publicly owned theater, owned by the four main administrations present in Barcelona: the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Ministry of Culture of Spain.

The administration is managed by the Foundation of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, which has had the incorporation, in addition to the aforementioned institutions, of the Patronage Council and the former Society of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

It should be noted that in the same building coexists next to the theater, the Liceo Superior Conservatory of Music and the Círculo del Liceo, an independent private civil society created in 1847, owner of a sector of the building that has not been affected by any of the fires and that preserves its modernist decoration as an example of the involvement of the Catalan bourgeoisie in cultural activities.

After the fire of 1994, the theater was rebuilt, following the project and direction of the architects Ignasi de Solà Morales, Xavier Fabré and Lluís Dilmé, and it was reopened in 1999. The reconstruction respected the atmosphere of the theater and considerably expanded the stage to adapt it to the most modern specifications, for which several houses surrounding the theater had to be demolished.

From an architectural point of view, it is worth highlighting the lobby, the staircase, the hall of mirrors (El Vergel) and the reconstruction of the room with the same decorative style, while from an urban planning point of view the building can be considered one of the most relevant architectural landmarks on Barcelona's Rambla.

The Liceo has twelve levels, three facades and a party wall, and has a flat roof at the triangular end of Las Ramblas with San Pablo Street and other flat roofs at different levels in the rest of the new building.

The three facades must be evaluated, understood as the main element that defines the public and urban space, as the dialogue and the exercise of a cultured and worked evolution and where materials and a full/empty relationship have been used that give enormous relevance to the debate that involves working with the past and its preexistences. Once again the possibility of establishing a dialogue and not a mimetic confrontation between the past and the present has become a reality.

The monument must be considered as an artistic unit despite the various phases and periods of construction and reconstruction to which it has been subjected from 1844 to 1999.

It is important to know that we are facing a unique case, because we must bear in mind to what extent the entire expansion that the building has undergone has become inseparable from all those original fragments of the century that did not suffer the consequences of the different fires. Therefore, the criterion and concept of unity has been established throughout the building and in all the architecture that responds, serves and accommodates all the functionality of the Gran Teatro del Liceo.

Contenido

El teatro está gestionado por un director general o intendente (empresari o administrador). Desde 1980 también hay un director artístico (director artistic).

Orchestra and conductors

The theater has had its own orchestra since its foundation in 1847, the Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu. It is the oldest active orchestra in Spain. Its first director was Marià Obiols.

choir directors

The choir consolidated during the 1960s with its director Riccardo Bottino (1960-1982). From 1982 the directors of the choir were Romano Gandolfi (1982-1993), Vittorio Sicuri (1982-1990) and Andrés Máspero (since 1990). The current director of the choir is William Spaulding.

Durante los primeros treinta años de vida del teatro, la rivalidad con el vecino Teatro Principal "Teatro Principal (Barcelona)") —el teatro más antiguo de la ciudad y, hasta el momento, el teatro de ópera más importante— fue motivo de incidentes diversos (peleas entre aficionados, "contraprogramación" de óperas, carreras por estrenar uno antes que el otro...). Una popular obra de teatro de Frederic Soler, "Liceístas y cruzados" retrata esta competencia.

En 1893, el anarquista Santiago Salvador tiró una bomba en la platea "Platea (teatro)") del Liceo que causó 20 muertos.

Otro incidente histórico afectó al teatro a comienzos de la guerra civil española cuando, en 1936, el Liceu fue expropiado, nacionalizado y convertido en Teatro del Pueblo Catalán. En 1939, a principios de la dictadura franquista, volvió a los antiguos propietarios en el mismo régimen de siempre.

El Liceo ha sufrido dos incendios que lo han destruido totalmente. El primero el 14 de abril de 1861, que destruyó totalmente la sala y el escenario, y que obligó a tener cerrado el teatro, por las tareas de reconstrucción, durante un año y seis días.

The fire of 1994

Between 10:30 and 10:45 in the morning of January 31, 1994, while two workers were working on repairing the steel curtain that, in the event of a fire, had to prevent the fire from passing from the stage to the room, the sparks from their blowtorch caught the folds of the three-part fixed curtain that hid the upper part of the stage. Some burning pieces of clothing fell to the floor, and although the workers hurried to extinguish them and the iron curtain was lowered, everything was useless: the flames had already jumped to the velvet curtain and rose to the loom and the ceiling.

The fire was already uncontrollable when the firefighters arrived minutes after eleven. It may have been a little late because, apparently, the workers had tried to put out the fire with the means at their disposal instead of immediately calling the firefighting services.

The fire caused a great commotion in Catalan society and in the world of opera in general. Thanks to the support of institutions, the sponsorship of companies and private donations, it was rebuilt in record time, and was able to open its doors again in 1999. During the works, its original decoration and style, responsible for its appreciated sound, was respected, and important technological improvements were introduced that have turned it into one of the most modern theaters in the world.

Pocos meses después de la fundación del Liceo, el 20 de noviembre de 1847, se creó el Círculo del Liceo, según la fecha de inscripción de los 125 fundadores que consta en el primer libro de registro de socios. El primer artículo de los estatutos dice:.

El Círculo del Liceo es un exclusivo club privado, de modelo inglés, del cual sólo podían ser socios los hombres o sus viudas. Con la reciente inauguración después del incendio del 1994, se originó una fuerte polémica por la prohibición que seguía vigente de negar a cualquier mujer ser socio del club: 8 mujeres que habían hecho la solicitud fueron rechazadas (incluida Montserrat Caballé). Los estatutos fueron cambiados y en 2001 dos empresarias catalanas, Adela Subirana y Magda Ferrer-Dalmau, formalizaban su inscripción, convirtiéndose en las primeras mujeres en formar parte del Círculo del Liceo.

Actualmente, el Círculo cuenta con 1100 socios. Después del incendio del Liceu el 31 de enero de 1994, el club cerró casi un año, pero posteriormente mantuvieron abiertos sus salones y el restaurante. Se aprovechó este periodo para restaurar sus dependencias. Como club recreativo, acoge a lo más granado de la sociedad catalana siendo el primer club social de la ciudad. El Círculo del Liceo ha abierto sus salas al público catalán en contadas ocasiones. No obstante, en las visitas guiadas del Teatro de las 10 horas de la mañana, también se visita los salones del Círculo del Liceo y la sala de los cuadros de Casas.

Artistic heritage

The history of the Circle itself has allowed the entity to have a fabulous artistic heritage.

The most famous work of the Círculo del Liceo is the mural group, of twelve oil paintings on canvas, commissioned by Ramón Casas and installed in the famous Rotonda del Círculo. Each of the twelve panels, Casas' most ambitious work, according to his scholars, are inspired by a musical theme.

The Circle has a more than notable library. In most of its rooms you can enjoy modernist decoration. There are four windows in the lower hall that are a direct testimony of the strong Wagnerian influence on Catalan culture at the beginning of the century. But in addition to the furniture and interior design, the Círculo is a lively and splendid exhibition of sculptures and the art of marquetry and has a gallery of enamels, engravings, etchings and oil paintings by the best Catalan artists of the time, such as Alexandre de Riquer, Santiago Rusiñol, Modesto Urgell and Francesc Miralles, Xosé Manuel García Grañas), among others.

In 2022, the work Constelaciones, by Jaume Plensa, was installed at the doors of the theater. These are three stainless steel doors made with letters from nine different alphabets, located in each of the three access arches to the theater.[5]​.

• - Roger Alier. The great book of the Liceu. Barcelona: Carroggio, DL 1999.

• - Roger Alier. The Gran Teatro del Liceo: artistic history. Barcelona: Francesc X. Mata, 1991.

• - Yearbook 1947-1997 of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Research and compilation: Pau Nadal. Barcelona: Amics del Liceu: Àmbit, DL 1997.

• - Josep Artís. First Centenary of the Gran Teatro del Liceo Society (1847-1947). Barcelona: SGTL, 1950.

• - Josep Artís. The Great Theater of the Liceo. Historical and monumental Barcelona collection. Barcelona: Aymá, 1946.

• - Alícia Daufí. 2022. "From the carnival transgression to the silence of the postwar period. I studied the musical, social, cultural and economic aspects of the mask balls at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (1848-1936)" [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. Autonomous University of Barcelona. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/266133.

• - Illustrated chronicle of the Gran Teatre del Liceu: 1947-1997. Barcelona: Friends of the Liceu: Àmbit, DL 1997.

• - Teresa Lloret. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona. [Barcelona: Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu], copy. 2002.

• - Ópera Liceu: an exhibition in five acts: Museu d'Història de Catalunya, September 19, 1997-Gener 11, 1998, Barcelona. [Barcelona]: Generalitat de Catalunya, Department of Culture: Proa: Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu, DL 1997.

• - Jaume Radigales. The origins of the Gran Teatre del Liceu: 1837-1847: from Plaça de Santa Anna to the Rambla: history of the Liceu Filharmònic d'Isabel II or Liceu Filodramàtic de Barcelona. Barcelona: Publications de l'Abadia de Montserrat, 1998.

• - Toni Rodríguez Pujol. Catalan civil society. Opera, the first factor of elitist integration. Barcelona: La Vanguardia.

• - José Will Rise. Opera in the theaters of Barcelona: chronological historical study from the 18th to the 20th century. Historical monographs of Barcelona, ​​9. Millà. 1946.

• - Jaume Tribó. Annals 1847-1897 of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Barcelona: Friends of the Liceu: Gran Teatre del Liceu, 2004.

• - This article includes content derived from a provision relating to the process of protection, initiation or declaration of a cultural or natural asset published in BOE No. 285 on November 29, 2006 (), which is free of known restrictions under copyright in accordance with the provisions of article 13 of the Spanish Intellectual Property Law.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Gran Teatro del Liceo.

• - Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona.

• - Website of the Association of Friends of the Liceu.

• - Círculo del Liceo website.

• - Liceu Conservatori website Archived February 9, 2011 at the Wayback Machine.

• - Keys to the success of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

The Amateur Dramatic Society

In 1837, the 8th Line Battalion of the National Militia, born in the image and likeness of the French revolutionary militias, with the patrician Manuel Gibert Sans at the helm, in his capacity as commander, had to find its own funds for its operation. Despite the high income of most of its members, they were in a difficult economic time. Corporal Pedro Vives defended, in a meeting held in a luxurious home on Escudillers Street, the idea of ​​founding a small theater in which to hold concerts, dramatic performances and dances, with which to raise funds to, among other things, pay for the renewal of the worn-out uniforms. The idea was warmly welcomed by everyone.[3]​.

The battalion got to work to build a hall with a capacity of 600 seats, which would soon begin to compete with the Teatro de la Santa Cruz, which was the official theater of Barcelona. The inaugural function of the hall, located in the former convent of Montesión (on Montsió street, near Puerta del Ángel avenue), was on August 21, 1837. The militia was dissolved on October 14, 1838, after the country had calmed down after the riots and burning of convents of the Revolution of 1835.

The Philodramatic Lyceum of Montesión

To prevent the disappearance of the hall, which was beginning to have its audience, Manuel Gibert proposed the constitution of the Liceo Filodramático de Montesión. The new company was authorized by the Civil Governor of Barcelona. The purpose of the new entity was, on the one hand, to promote musical education (hence the name Lyceum) and, on the other, the organization of stage performances of opera theater by the students.

The presence of the thriving Liceo Filodramático led the owners of the Teatro de la Santa Cruz to change its name to Teatro Principal "Teatro Principal (Barcelona)"). In 1838, the entity changed its name to Liceo Filarmónico Dramático de S.M. Queen Elizabeth II. The supporters of one or the other room were known as Crusados and Liceítas, the former welcoming Carlist and more traditional groups, while Liceítas were the liberal and moderate groups. In both cases, they were transversal social groups in which people from all social classes participated, as was the tradition in opera in Barcelona.[3]​.

The lack of space and the pressure from the Dominican nuns, former owners of the convent, who had recovered some rights that they had lost, and were demanding to return, motivated the Liceo Filarmónico Dramático de S.M. Queen Isabel II left the Convent of Montesión in 1848.

In exchange, he was granted the purchase of the Trinitarios Convent building, located in the center of Barcelona's Rambla. Immediately, work began on the demolition of this convent to build a new building capable of hosting all the activities of the Lyceum.

The first building of the Gran Teatro del Liceo

Unlike other European cities, where the monarchy was in charge of the construction and maintenance of opera theaters, in Barcelona the construction of the Gran Teatro del Liceo had to be done through the contributions of private shareholders, according to a structure similar to a commercial company. This fact conditioned even the structure of the new building, lacking, for example, a royal box.

Given the great fans in Barcelona, ​​the theater that was built had the largest capacity in Europe, and it remained so for more than a century. Even today, with the capacity reduced to half the initial capacity, but with the comfort of having all seats seated, the Liceo is the opera house with the largest capacity in all of Europe, except for more recent ones such as the Opera Bastille (2,703 seats).

The Gran Teatro del Liceo Society originated in 1837, but it was not until 1844 when Joaquim Gispert, driving partner of the Liceo Filarmónico de Montesión society, bought the old convent of the barefoot Trinitarians on the Rambla to build a new theater.[3]​.

The first architectural authorship remains some unknowns, but it is known that Joaquim Gispert, his son Frederic, who was an engineer, the master builder Francesc Batlle, Francesc d'Assís Soler, etc. were involved. but Miquel Garriga i Roca was the architect in charge of the construction of the Lyceum. The French set designer Charles-Antoine Cambon took part in the interior decoration. The works began on April 11, 1845, and the Theater was inaugurated on April 4, 1847.[3]​.

The architectural and social history of the building is turbulent and varied, reflecting the circumstances and variations of society at any given time.

The building was largely destroyed by the fire of 1861, saving, as in the following fire, the entrance and the hall of mirrors, known then as El Vergel which, together with the entrance from the Rambla, is the only thing that remains of the primitive theater.

The second Great Theater of the Liceo

After the fire of 1861, the managers of the Dramatic Philharmonic Lyceum of S.M. Queen Elizabeth II commissioned Joaquín de Gispert y de Anglí") with a project that would make the construction of the new building viable. This project provided for the creation of two entities: the Construction Society and the Auxiliary Construction Society. The shareholders of the first obtained, in exchange for their financial contributions, the right to use in perpetuity some boxes and seats in the future theater. On the other hand, those of the second contributed the rest of the necessary money in exchange for the ownership of others. spaces of the building. The Auxiliary Construction Society would be the origin of the Círculo del Liceo The theater was rebuilt in just one year under the direction of Josep Oriol Mestres.

Until 1980, the building and the activities that took place in it were maintained entirely by the Gran Teatro del Liceo Society. In this year, the Gran Teatro del Liceu Consortium was built, in which the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the Society of the Gran Teatro del Liceu, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Ministry of Culture currently participate.[3]​.

The Principal Ballet of the Gran Teatro del Liceo (1966-1988)

The choreographer Joan Magrinyà fought for the Liceo dancers to acquire the status of an independent company, as in the case of the great European opera houses. And he got it. In 1966, the Titular Ballet of the Gran Teatro del Liceo was born, which performed both in the theater in the spring program and abroad. In 1977 Magrinyà retired and was succeeded by his collaborator Assumpta Aguadé.[4]​[3]​.

The current Lyceum building

Currently, after the legal reorganization that was agreed in 1994 to be able to face its rehabilitation, the Liceu is a publicly owned theater, owned by the four main administrations present in Barcelona: the Generalitat of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Ministry of Culture of Spain.

The administration is managed by the Foundation of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, which has had the incorporation, in addition to the aforementioned institutions, of the Patronage Council and the former Society of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

It should be noted that in the same building coexists next to the theater, the Liceo Superior Conservatory of Music and the Círculo del Liceo, an independent private civil society created in 1847, owner of a sector of the building that has not been affected by any of the fires and that preserves its modernist decoration as an example of the involvement of the Catalan bourgeoisie in cultural activities.

After the fire of 1994, the theater was rebuilt, following the project and direction of the architects Ignasi de Solà Morales, Xavier Fabré and Lluís Dilmé, and it was reopened in 1999. The reconstruction respected the atmosphere of the theater and considerably expanded the stage to adapt it to the most modern specifications, for which several houses surrounding the theater had to be demolished.

From an architectural point of view, it is worth highlighting the lobby, the staircase, the hall of mirrors (El Vergel) and the reconstruction of the room with the same decorative style, while from an urban planning point of view the building can be considered one of the most relevant architectural landmarks on Barcelona's Rambla.

The Liceo has twelve levels, three facades and a party wall, and has a flat roof at the triangular end of Las Ramblas with San Pablo Street and other flat roofs at different levels in the rest of the new building.

The three facades must be evaluated, understood as the main element that defines the public and urban space, as the dialogue and the exercise of a cultured and worked evolution and where materials and a full/empty relationship have been used that give enormous relevance to the debate that involves working with the past and its preexistences. Once again the possibility of establishing a dialogue and not a mimetic confrontation between the past and the present has become a reality.

The monument must be considered as an artistic unit despite the various phases and periods of construction and reconstruction to which it has been subjected from 1844 to 1999.

It is important to know that we are facing a unique case, because we must bear in mind to what extent the entire expansion that the building has undergone has become inseparable from all those original fragments of the century that did not suffer the consequences of the different fires. Therefore, the criterion and concept of unity has been established throughout the building and in all the architecture that responds, serves and accommodates all the functionality of the Gran Teatro del Liceo.

Contenido

El teatro está gestionado por un director general o intendente (empresari o administrador). Desde 1980 también hay un director artístico (director artistic).

Orchestra and conductors

The theater has had its own orchestra since its foundation in 1847, the Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu. It is the oldest active orchestra in Spain. Its first director was Marià Obiols.

choir directors

The choir consolidated during the 1960s with its director Riccardo Bottino (1960-1982). From 1982 the directors of the choir were Romano Gandolfi (1982-1993), Vittorio Sicuri (1982-1990) and Andrés Máspero (since 1990). The current director of the choir is William Spaulding.

Durante los primeros treinta años de vida del teatro, la rivalidad con el vecino Teatro Principal "Teatro Principal (Barcelona)") —el teatro más antiguo de la ciudad y, hasta el momento, el teatro de ópera más importante— fue motivo de incidentes diversos (peleas entre aficionados, "contraprogramación" de óperas, carreras por estrenar uno antes que el otro...). Una popular obra de teatro de Frederic Soler, "Liceístas y cruzados" retrata esta competencia.

En 1893, el anarquista Santiago Salvador tiró una bomba en la platea "Platea (teatro)") del Liceo que causó 20 muertos.

Otro incidente histórico afectó al teatro a comienzos de la guerra civil española cuando, en 1936, el Liceu fue expropiado, nacionalizado y convertido en Teatro del Pueblo Catalán. En 1939, a principios de la dictadura franquista, volvió a los antiguos propietarios en el mismo régimen de siempre.

El Liceo ha sufrido dos incendios que lo han destruido totalmente. El primero el 14 de abril de 1861, que destruyó totalmente la sala y el escenario, y que obligó a tener cerrado el teatro, por las tareas de reconstrucción, durante un año y seis días.

The fire of 1994

Between 10:30 and 10:45 in the morning of January 31, 1994, while two workers were working on repairing the steel curtain that, in the event of a fire, had to prevent the fire from passing from the stage to the room, the sparks from their blowtorch caught the folds of the three-part fixed curtain that hid the upper part of the stage. Some burning pieces of clothing fell to the floor, and although the workers hurried to extinguish them and the iron curtain was lowered, everything was useless: the flames had already jumped to the velvet curtain and rose to the loom and the ceiling.

The fire was already uncontrollable when the firefighters arrived minutes after eleven. It may have been a little late because, apparently, the workers had tried to put out the fire with the means at their disposal instead of immediately calling the firefighting services.

The fire caused a great commotion in Catalan society and in the world of opera in general. Thanks to the support of institutions, the sponsorship of companies and private donations, it was rebuilt in record time, and was able to open its doors again in 1999. During the works, its original decoration and style, responsible for its appreciated sound, was respected, and important technological improvements were introduced that have turned it into one of the most modern theaters in the world.

Pocos meses después de la fundación del Liceo, el 20 de noviembre de 1847, se creó el Círculo del Liceo, según la fecha de inscripción de los 125 fundadores que consta en el primer libro de registro de socios. El primer artículo de los estatutos dice:.

El Círculo del Liceo es un exclusivo club privado, de modelo inglés, del cual sólo podían ser socios los hombres o sus viudas. Con la reciente inauguración después del incendio del 1994, se originó una fuerte polémica por la prohibición que seguía vigente de negar a cualquier mujer ser socio del club: 8 mujeres que habían hecho la solicitud fueron rechazadas (incluida Montserrat Caballé). Los estatutos fueron cambiados y en 2001 dos empresarias catalanas, Adela Subirana y Magda Ferrer-Dalmau, formalizaban su inscripción, convirtiéndose en las primeras mujeres en formar parte del Círculo del Liceo.

Actualmente, el Círculo cuenta con 1100 socios. Después del incendio del Liceu el 31 de enero de 1994, el club cerró casi un año, pero posteriormente mantuvieron abiertos sus salones y el restaurante. Se aprovechó este periodo para restaurar sus dependencias. Como club recreativo, acoge a lo más granado de la sociedad catalana siendo el primer club social de la ciudad. El Círculo del Liceo ha abierto sus salas al público catalán en contadas ocasiones. No obstante, en las visitas guiadas del Teatro de las 10 horas de la mañana, también se visita los salones del Círculo del Liceo y la sala de los cuadros de Casas.

Artistic heritage

The history of the Circle itself has allowed the entity to have a fabulous artistic heritage.

The most famous work of the Círculo del Liceo is the mural group, of twelve oil paintings on canvas, commissioned by Ramón Casas and installed in the famous Rotonda del Círculo. Each of the twelve panels, Casas' most ambitious work, according to his scholars, are inspired by a musical theme.

The Circle has a more than notable library. In most of its rooms you can enjoy modernist decoration. There are four windows in the lower hall that are a direct testimony of the strong Wagnerian influence on Catalan culture at the beginning of the century. But in addition to the furniture and interior design, the Círculo is a lively and splendid exhibition of sculptures and the art of marquetry and has a gallery of enamels, engravings, etchings and oil paintings by the best Catalan artists of the time, such as Alexandre de Riquer, Santiago Rusiñol, Modesto Urgell and Francesc Miralles, Xosé Manuel García Grañas), among others.

In 2022, the work Constelaciones, by Jaume Plensa, was installed at the doors of the theater. These are three stainless steel doors made with letters from nine different alphabets, located in each of the three access arches to the theater.[5]​.

• - Roger Alier. The great book of the Liceu. Barcelona: Carroggio, DL 1999.

• - Roger Alier. The Gran Teatro del Liceo: artistic history. Barcelona: Francesc X. Mata, 1991.

• - Yearbook 1947-1997 of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Research and compilation: Pau Nadal. Barcelona: Amics del Liceu: Àmbit, DL 1997.

• - Josep Artís. First Centenary of the Gran Teatro del Liceo Society (1847-1947). Barcelona: SGTL, 1950.

• - Josep Artís. The Great Theater of the Liceo. Historical and monumental Barcelona collection. Barcelona: Aymá, 1946.

• - Alícia Daufí. 2022. "From the carnival transgression to the silence of the postwar period. I studied the musical, social, cultural and economic aspects of the mask balls at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (1848-1936)" [Unpublished doctoral thesis]. Autonomous University of Barcelona. https://ddd.uab.cat/record/266133.

• - Illustrated chronicle of the Gran Teatre del Liceu: 1947-1997. Barcelona: Friends of the Liceu: Àmbit, DL 1997.

• - Teresa Lloret. Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona. [Barcelona: Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu], copy. 2002.

• - Ópera Liceu: an exhibition in five acts: Museu d'Història de Catalunya, September 19, 1997-Gener 11, 1998, Barcelona. [Barcelona]: Generalitat de Catalunya, Department of Culture: Proa: Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu, DL 1997.

• - Jaume Radigales. The origins of the Gran Teatre del Liceu: 1837-1847: from Plaça de Santa Anna to the Rambla: history of the Liceu Filharmònic d'Isabel II or Liceu Filodramàtic de Barcelona. Barcelona: Publications de l'Abadia de Montserrat, 1998.

• - Toni Rodríguez Pujol. Catalan civil society. Opera, the first factor of elitist integration. Barcelona: La Vanguardia.

• - José Will Rise. Opera in the theaters of Barcelona: chronological historical study from the 18th to the 20th century. Historical monographs of Barcelona, ​​9. Millà. 1946.

• - Jaume Tribó. Annals 1847-1897 of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Barcelona: Friends of the Liceu: Gran Teatre del Liceu, 2004.

• - This article includes content derived from a provision relating to the process of protection, initiation or declaration of a cultural or natural asset published in BOE No. 285 on November 29, 2006 (), which is free of known restrictions under copyright in accordance with the provisions of article 13 of the Spanish Intellectual Property Law.

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Gran Teatro del Liceo.

• - Gran Teatre del Liceu of Barcelona.

• - Website of the Association of Friends of the Liceu.

• - Círculo del Liceo website.

• - Liceu Conservatori website Archived February 9, 2011 at the Wayback Machine.

• - Keys to the success of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.