El Liceu i la seva resiliència

Històries del Liceu

Stories of the Liceu

Amb Albert Galceran

With Albert Galceran

El Liceu és un teatre que ha passat per tota mena d'esdeveniments,

The Liceu is a theater that has gone through all kinds of events,

dins i fora del teatre, de catàstrofes i de desgràcies.

Inside and outside the theater, of catastrophes and misfortunes.

Una bomba, dos incendis, l'entrada a Espasa i dalt d'un cavall del general Espartero...

A bomb, two fires, the entrance to Espasa and on a horse of General Espartero...

Però si una cosa és, ha estat, i esperem que sigui sent, el Liceu,

But if one thing is, it has been, and we hope it continues to be, the Liceu,

és un teatre resilient, que s'ha hagut d'enfrontar a situacions adverses,

it is a resilient theater that has had to face adverse situations,

complexes i fins i tot catastròfiques, però que se n'ha sortit tornant a la normalitat,

complex and even catastrophic, but that has managed to return to normality,

és a dir, a la vida del dia a dia, aixecant i abaixant el taló

That is to say, in everyday life, raising and lowering the heel.

per acollir espectacles aplaudits, protestats o tolerats.

to host applauded, protested, or tolerated shows.

De tot una mica. I avui us ho volem explicar.

A little bit of everything. And today we want to explain it to you.

Comencem les històries del Liceu.

Let's start the stories of the Liceu.

L'Història de l'Història

The History of History

Tot allò que comença finalment acaba, i és el cas d'aquest programa,

Everything that begins eventually ends, and this is the case for this program.

que avui arriba a la seva fi, després de 16 capítols,

that today comes to its end, after 16 chapters,

però encara ens queda tot aquest programa d'avui per endavant,

but we still have the entire program ahead of us today,

per tant, ja ens recomiadarem el seu degut moment.

therefore, we will recommend it to you at the appropriate time.

El que fem ara és...

What we are doing now is...

Saludar, donar la benvinguda a Jaume Radigales. Com estàs, Jaume?

Greet, welcome Jaume Radigales. How are you, Jaume?

Content i una mica trist, perquè això s'acaba.

Content and a little sad, because this is ending.

Malauradament, però mira, si ens somriem...

Unfortunately, but look, if we smile at each other...

Hem de somriure perquè ha començat, almenys.

We have to smile because at least it has started.

Ja sabeu que aquest programa vol commemorar el 175è aniversari del Gran Teatre del Liceu

You already know that this program aims to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

i és indubtable que el Liceu és, com dèiem, un teatre resilient.

And it is undoubted that the Liceu is, as we said, a resilient theater.

Resilient i, a més, amb molt de mèrit i amb banda sonora,

Resilient and, moreover, with a lot of merit and with a soundtrack,

perquè això que sentim de fons és el darrer que van sentir les parets del Liceu

because this background sound is the last thing the walls of the Liceu heard

el 29 de gener de 1994, era un dissabte,

January 29, 1994, was a Saturday,

i al cap de dos dies, el dilluns 31 de gener,

and two days later, on Monday, January 31,

enmig de la tanda de funcions,

in the middle of the series of performances,

de l'òpera Matis der Mahler, de Paul Hindemith,

from the opera Matis der Mahler, by Paul Hindemith,

que suposava, per cert, l'estrena a Catalunya

what it meant, by the way, the premiere in Catalonia

d'aquesta obra meravellosa que sentim de fons.

of this wonderful work that we hear in the background.

Aquell Liceu, que, atenció, era el de 1862,

That Liceu, which, attention, was the one from 1862,

perquè s'havia cremat el 61,

because it had burned down in 61,

desapareixia per sempre enmig de foc, de fum i de runa,

it was disappearing forever amidst fire, smoke, and rubble,

tot a terra, amb la invasió de bombers

everything on the ground, with the invasion of firefighters

que van ser els darrers testimonis de la desaparició

who were the last witnesses of the disappearance

d'aquell emblemàtic edifici del que tan sols van quedar d'empeus al vestíbul.

of that emblematic building of which only the entrance hall remained standing.

El Sol dels Miralls, la paret, podríem dir, principal del teatre,

The Sun of the Mirrors, the wall, we could say, the main one of the theater,

la darrera,

the last,

la ferradura, despullada completament,

the horseshoe, completely stripped,

i les dependències del cercle

and the dependencies of the circle

i la de la seu antiga del conservatori.

and that of the former seat of the conservatory.

Una òpera, per tant, Matis der Mahler, com ara explicarem, premonitòria.

An opera, therefore, Matis der Mahler, as we will explain now, prophetic.

Premonitòria la posada en escena del Götz Friedrich,

The staging by Götz Friedrich is premonitory,

perquè en una determinada escena es veien uns figurants

because in a certain scene some extra actors were seen

cremant llibres a l'escenari.

burning books on stage.

Un foc que ha estat sempre l'element enemic número 1 dels teatres.

A fire that has always been the number 1 enemy element of theaters.

Absolutament. A veure, però ja amb un aclariment, eh?

Absolutely. Let's see, but just with a clarification, OK?

Quan deies que els bombers van ser els últims

When you said that the firefighters were the last ones.

a veure encara d'empeus el teatre mentre cremava,

to see the theater still standing while it burned,

parlaves d'una...

you were talking about a...

d'un edifici de 1862,

of a building from 1862,

però el Liceu es va inaugurar a la Rambla el 1847.

but the Liceu was inaugurated on the Rambla in 1847.

Sí, però com deia abans,

Yes, but as I said before,

s'havia cremat i també destruït

it had been burned and also destroyed

completament el 1861.

completely in 1861.

Hi ha una cosa curiosa.

There is a curious thing.

Un pintor rousenc, un senyor que es deia Josep Tapiró,

A Rousillon painter, a gentleman named Josep Tapiró,

va fer un oli en què es veu el teatre

He made a painting in which the theater can be seen.

completament destruït.

completely destroyed.

Doncs bé, la imatge, aquella imatge,

Well, the image, that image,

recorda la del Liceu cremat el 1994.

remember the Liceu burned in 1994.

És a dir, la mateixa destrucció

That is to say, the same destruction.

i les mateixes restes.

and the same remains.

Tot exactament igual.

Everything exactly the same.

Increïble, eh?

Incredible, huh?

Efectivament, el nit del 9 d'abril de 1862,

Indeed, on the night of April 9, 1862,

i amb el teatre afortunadament buit,

and with the theater fortunately empty,

al taller de Sastreria, ubicat al quart pis,

in the Tailoring workshop, located on the fourth floor,

un foc produït per una llum d'oli mal apagat

a fire caused by a poorly extinguished oil lamp

va començar a cremar.

it started to burn.

Les flames es van propagar molt de pressa

The flames spread very quickly.

i, en ser tot de fusta, només va quedar, com és lògic,

and, being all made of wood, only remained, as is logical,

la carcassa de pedra del teatre.

the stone shell of the theater.

Sí, també hi ha un gravat que es va publicar en alguns diaris

Yes, there is also an engraving that was published in some newspapers.

en què es veuen les flames sortint de la façana del teatre.

in which the flames can be seen coming out of the theater façade.

Una imatge molt pintoresca,

A very picturesque image,

molt espectacular,

very spectacular,

no ajustada a la realitat.

not aligned with reality.

El que deuria sortir, evidentment, és fum.

What should have come out, obviously, is smoke.

Però la cosa va causar un gran impacte

But the thing had a great impact.

en la societat barcelonina del moment.

in the current Barcelona society.

I com el 1994, com dèiem,

And like 1994, as we said,

es va salvar el Saló de Descans,

the Rest Room was saved,

o sigui, el Saló dels Miralls,

that is, the Hall of Mirrors,

les escales del vestíbul i el cercle.

the stairs of the hallway and the circle.

Dues setmanes després de l'incendi,

Two weeks after the fire,

la Junta de Propietaris del Liceu es va reunir en sessió extraordinària

The Owners' Board of the Liceu met in an extraordinary session.

i va acordar-ne la reconstrucció

and it was agreed to reconstruct it

sota la direcció de l'arquitecte Oriol Mestres.

under the direction of the architect Oriol Mestres.

Així, el 20 d'abril de 1862,

Thus, on April 20, 1862,

poc més d'un any després, es va inaugurar de nou

just over a year later, it was reopened

el Teatre del Liceu. Molt ràpid, perquè va ser

the Liceu Theatre. Very quickly, because it was

un any i 11 dies després de l'incendi.

A year and 11 days after the fire.

En canvi, el 31 de gener de 1994

On the contrary, on January 31, 1994

al 7 d'octubre de 1999,

on October 7, 1999,

que és,

what it is,

des de l'incendi fins a la reinauguració,

from the fire to the reopening,

van passar 5 anys, 8 mesos

five years, eight months passed

i 7 dies.

and 7 days.

Sí, però has de pensar que van passar d'un teatre del segle XIX

Yes, but you have to consider that they moved from a 19th-century theater.

a un teatre del segle XXI.

to a 21st century theater.

Un nou segle, en què els sistemes

A new century, in which the systems

de seguretat han de ser molt més estrictes.

Security must be much stricter.

I encara més coses, eh?

And even more things, right?

Per exemple, el Teatre de 1847

For example, the Theatre of 1847

i el Reconstruït de 1862

and the Reconstructed of 1862

eren iguals pel que fa a les dimensions,

they were the same in terms of dimensions,

mentre que el del 99 triplicava

while that of 99 tripled

el seu espai. Has de pensar que

your space. You have to think that

es van adquirir edificis adjacents a la Rambla,

adjacent buildings to the Rambla were acquired,

també als carrers d'Unió i de Sant Pau,

also in the streets of Unió and Sant Pau,

i que la gran paret

and that the great wall

aquesta que et deia abans, que formava

this that I was telling you before, that formed

l'arc escènic, que era la mateixa del primer

the stage arch, which was the same as the first

teatre de 1847,

theatre of 1847,

es va haver d'enderrocar per raons de seguretat

it had to be demolished for safety reasons

en la fase de la segona reconstrucció.

in the phase of the second reconstruction.

I he de dir que les obres també van donar més

I have to say that the works also brought more.

perquè en ampliar-se

because when it expands

les dependències escèniques,

the scenic dependencies,

els operaris, quan van començar

the workers, when they started

a excavar, van trobar aigua

while digging, they found water

a causa de la proximitat

due to the proximity

amb el mar. Barcelona és una ciutat

with the sea. Barcelona is a city

que està plena de mines, llacs subterranis

that isFilled with mines, underground lakes

i allà estem a la Rambla, que,

and there we are on the Rambla, that,

com indica una Rambla, és un lloc per on passa l'aigua

As indicated by a Rambla, it is a place where water flows.

que desemboca el mar. I això va obligar

that flows into the sea. And this forced

a fer unes obres molt importants

to carry out some very important works

d'adrenatge, de contenció d'aigua,

of drainage, of water retention,

una aigua que precisament es drena contínuament

a water that is continuously drained

i que actualment va parar a Montjuïc

and that currently stopped at Montjuïc

mitjançant una complexíssima

through a complex system

xarxa de canonades.

pipe network.

I això, evidentment, va endarrerir les obres.

And this, obviously, delayed the works.

És a dir, quan aneu a veure les fonts de Montjuïc, penseu que aquella aigua,

That is to say, when you go to see the fountains of Montjuïc, think that that water,

en bona part, ve del Liceu. Sembla increïble,

in large part, it comes from the Liceu. It seems incredible,

però és absolutament així.

But it is absolutely so.

De fet, la planta Menchic de Liceu

In fact, the Menchic plant of Liceu.

i una maquinària, unes bombes immenses

and machinery, some immense pumps

que bombegen aquesta aigua, precisament, cap a

that they bomb this water, precisely, towards

Montjuïc. Bé, se m'acut que

Montjuïc. Well, it occurs to me that

qui ens pot explicar millor aquesta qüestió

Who can explain this issue to us better?

seria, bé, la qüestió de la reconstrucció, seria

it would be, well, the issue of reconstruction, it would be

Josep Caminal, que era director general del Liceu

Josep Caminal, who was the general director of the Liceu.

quan aquest es va cremar, i que ho seria

When this was burned, and it would be.

també durant els primers anys del nou teatre

also during the early years of the new theater

reconstruït a partir del 99. I, d'entrada,

reconstructed from the 99. And, to begin with,

voldríem saber què va motivar les administracions

We would like to know what motivated the administrations.

a assumir el lideratge de la reconstrucció

to take on the leadership of the reconstruction

del teatre després de l'incendi.

from the theater after the fire.

Quan es va signar l'acord

When was the agreement signed?

amb els antics propietaris

with the former owners

de constitució del consorci

of the constitution of the consortium

del Gran Teatre

of the Grand Theatre

Liceu, un dels

Liceu, one of the

punts fonamentals de l'acord

key points of the agreement

era que, davant de

it was that, in front of

la insolvència, de la incapacitat

insolvency, of incapacity

de l'antiga

of the ancient

propietat, no només de fer front

property, not just to face

a les temporades,

to the seasons,

sinó al manteniment de l'edifici,

but to the maintenance of the building,

que les administracions

that the administrations

assumien el compromís de fer-ho.

they committed to doing it.

Això és evident

This is evident.

que no va ser així.

that it was not like that.

El teatre tenia

The theater had

certament

certainly

una situació de

a situation of

deficiències sobre

deficiencies about

l'edifici importants.

the important building.

Per tant,

Therefore,

hi havia un cert sentiment

there was a certain feeling

per part de totes les administracions

on behalf of all the administrations

d'haver fallat

having failed

en el repte de

in the challenge of

tirar endavant la reforma

to push forward the reform

imprescindible del teatre.

essential of the theater.

I també volem saber què és el que va

And we also want to know what it is that goes.

fer animar tothom la mateixa tarda del

get everyone excited the same afternoon of the

31 de gener de 1994

January 31, 1994

i amb el teatre encara fumejant

and with the theatre still smoking

a la immediata reconstrucció.

to the immediate reconstruction.

Jo sempre he dit que el Liceu,

I have always said that the Liceu,

com l'Hospital de Sant Pau,

like the Hospital de Sant Pau,

com el Pla de la Música,

like the Plan of Music,

són institucions

they are institutions

molt estimades

dear ones

a la ciutat, molt, molt estimades

in the city, very, very dear

a la ciutat. És un cúmul de circumstàncies

in the city. It is a culmination of circumstances.

que és veritat que van

that it is true that they go

promoure que de manera

promote that in a way

pràcticament immediata,

practically immediate,

doncs, si no immediata,

well, if not immediate,

en qüestió d'hores, si en qüestió de dies,

in a matter of hours, if in a matter of days,

tothom es posés d'acord

everyone agreed

en que era imprescindible

in which it was essential

la reconstrucció del Liceu.

the reconstruction of the Liceu.

Una pregunta més. Per què es va optar,

One more question. Why was the decision made,

per reconstruir el teatre, mantenint-la

to rebuild the theater, keeping it

en la ubicació i l'estètica de l'alt teatre anterior?

in the location and the aesthetics of the previous high theater?

El debat que s'ha generat

The debate that has arisen

sempre a sobre, i per què

always on top, and why

en el segle XXI

in the 21st century

una reconstrucció

a reconstruction

quasi bé

almost

fidel del teatre

loyal to the theatre

anterior? Bé,

previous? Good,

entre altres coses perquè hi havia

among other things because there was

un sentiment, per un costat,

a feeling, on one hand,

de sobre

on top

el que representava

what it represented

el Liceu, les Rambles,

the Liceu, the Rambles,

però és que, a més,

but, moreover,

hi havia una altra raó

there was another reason

des del vessant jurídic,

from the legal standpoint,

i és que l'acord

and it is that the agreement

formal entre

formal between

els antics propietaris i les administracions

the former owners and the administrations

públiques era, com deia

public was, as it said

abans, el de

before, the of

mantenir en condicions

keep in condition

degudes l'edifici,

due to the building,

i en aquest cas, per tant, era

and in this case, therefore, it was

inevitablement

inevitably

assumir el compromís de la seva reconstrucció.

assume the commitment to its reconstruction.

Precisament quan es va reobrir

Precisely when it reopened

el Liceu, el 1999, es parlava

the Liceu, in 1999, it was said

llavors del Liceu

seeds from the Liceu

de Tots. Li podem preguntar

of Everyone. We can ask him/her.

a Josep Caminal quin és el canvi de mentalitat

To Josep Caminal, what is the change in mindset?

que opera entre aquell Liceu

that operates among that Liceu

d'uns quants a un Liceu de Tots.

from a few to a Liceu of All.

Sí que és cert

Yes, it is true.

que l'equip directiu

that the management team

teníem

we had

una actitud obsessiva,

an obsessive attitude,

que era la de dir

that was to say

en el primer contracte

in the first contract

programa que s'arredactarà

program that will be drafted

del nou Liceu, ha de

of the new Liceu, must

quedar clar, ha de ser molt tangible

to be clear, it must be very tangible

què representa

what does it represent

passar d'un teatre privat a un teatre

to go from a private theater to a theater

públic. Per descomptat que el nou Liceu

public. Of course the new Liceu

d'entrada volia dir el Liceu de Tots.

I wanted to say the Liceu of All.

Volia dir

I wanted to say

passar

to pass

un equipament que

a piece of equipment that

comtés no només amb la complicitat

counted not only with the complicity

institucional de totes les

institutional of all the

administracions compromeses,

committed administrations,

no només de la complicitat

not only of complicity

empresarial que va

business that is going

representar, recordem-ho,

represent, let's remember it,

el 50% de l'aportació

50% of the contribution

dels recursos per la reconstrucció,

of the resources for reconstruction,

sinó

but

sobretot la complicitat social

above all the social complicity

de la gent.

of the people.

I ja que parlem de focs,

And since we are talking about fires,

no de joia, precisament com ens canten aquí a l'hotel

Not of joy, precisely as they sing to us here at the hotel.

de Josep Eberdi, hem de dir que anys abans

of Josep Eberdi, we must say that years earlier

de l'incendi, el Liceu ja comptava

from the fire, the Liceu already had

amb una brigada de bombers que crec que tu havies vist, Jaume.

with a fire brigade that I think you had seen, Jaume.

Sí,

Yes,

jo recordo com passaven pel

I remember how they passed by the

fals sostre del teatre,

false ceiling of the theater,

perquè des del quart o cinquè pis on jo anava

because from the fourth or fifth floor where I was going

amb el meu abonament, que el tenia molt a la vora,

with my subscription, which I had very close,

i de vegades per les clatxetes

and sometimes for the little bumps

veia uns llums de llanterna

I saw some flashlight lights.

i eren aquells homes que anaven fent

and they were those men who went making

com rondes abans de les funcions

like rounds before the shows

i fins i tot de vegades durant les funcions

and even sometimes during the performances

per revisar que tot estigués en ordre.

to check that everything was in order.

Doncs mira, el senyor Juan Carlos López era el cap de bombers de Barcelona

Well, look, Mr. Juan Carlos López was the head of the fire department in Barcelona.

l'any 1994, l'any de l'incendi

the year 1994, the year of the fire

del Liceu, i ens pot explicar coses

from the Liceu, and he can tell us things

sobre les intervencions i la vigilància dels bombers

about the interventions and oversight of firefighters

al Liceu en aquell any de l'incendi.

at the Liceu in that year of the fire.

Intervenia en l'extinció del foc i voldríem saber

He was involved in the extinction of the fire and we would like to know.

quin record en té.

What memory does he/she have of it?

Realmente el aviso

Really the notice

me cogió muy cerca de ahí

It caught me very close to there.

del Liceu y cuando

from the Liceu and when

sentí que era el Liceu enseguida

I felt that it was the Liceu right away.

acudí al lugar del

I went to the place of the

siniestro. Realmente

sinister. Really

tengo dos sensaciones muy distintas.

I have two very different feelings.

En primera instancia, la sensación

At first glance, the feeling

propia del profesional que está

typical of the professional who is

viendo un siniestro

seeing a disaster

y trata de resalvarlo.

and tries to save it.

Y la segunda, como

And the second one, like

admirador de la ópera,

opera admirer,

siempre fui un liceísta

I was always a high school student.

desde que llegué a Barcelona hace más

Since I arrived in Barcelona more than

de 45 años.

45 years old.

Siempre acudí al Liceu por las versiones

I always went to the Liceu for the performances.

operísticas que se llevaban

operatic performances that took place

a cabo allí y realmente

to end there and really

sentí una gran angustia

he felt a great anguish

de ver que se estaba perdiendo

of course that was being lost

patrimonio de la

heritage of the

humanidad. Es pot ben dir que

humanity. It can be well said that

el Liceu era una veritable bomba de rellotgeria.

The Liceu was a true time bomb.

Podríem dir que era una

We could say that it was a

mena de tempesta perfecta per al foc

kind of perfect storm for the fire

i pels bombers? Piense usted que desde

And what about the firefighters? Do you think that since

hacía ya muchos años, mucho antes

many years ago, long before

de que yo me hiciera cargo de

that I would take charge of

la jefatura del cuerpo,

the command of the body,

siempre había un retén de forma

there was always a shape retention

permanente cada vez que se llevaba

permanent every time it was taken off

a cabo un ensayo o una

I finish a rehearsal or a

actuación. Siempre teníamos

performance. We always had

un retén, es decir, un retén media docena

a checkpoint, that is, a checkpoint half a dozen

de hombres distribuidos

of men distributed

en distintos lugares de la sala, dado

in different places of the room, given

que había, bueno, no solamente

that there was, well, not only

el tema de la cantidad de madera

the issue of the amount of wood

que había y con los años, usted

what there was and with the years, you

sabe que eso se iba resecando

he knows that it was drying out

y naturalmente, junto

and naturally, together

con todas las cuerdas y todo el

with all the strings and all the

tapizado y demás, bueno, era

upholstered and the rest, well, it was

una carga de fuego que nosotros denominamos

a load of fire that we call

una carga de fuego sumamente

an extremely heavy burden of fire

importante. Cualquier

important. Any

chispa, cualquier

spark, any

rescollo que se pudiera producir

repercussion that could occur

evidentemente iba a ser muy

it was obviously going to be very

muy difícil de parar.

very difficult to stop.

A veure, falta la pregunta clau, no, Jaume?

Let's see, the key question is missing, right, Jaume?

Quin va ser el motiu d'aquest incendi del

What was the reason for this fire?

1994? Una de las cosas

1994? One of the things

que había para detenerlo era

what was there to stop him was

el telón cortafuegos

the fire curtain

y usted sabe que justamente

and you know that precisely

uno de los problemas que se produjo fue que

one of the problems that arose was that

se quitó el telón cortafuegos

he removed the firewall curtain

para representar una ópera.

to represent an opera.

Y cuando se estaba reinstalando

And when it was being reinstalled

el telón, a través de los

the curtain, through the

trabajos de soldadura, es cuando

welding work, it's when

se produce el siniestro.

the accident occurs.

Fue una broma de mal gust, podríem dir, Jaume,

It was a bad taste joke, we could say, Jaume.

que és un duet que és la bomba.

it is a duet that is awesome.

Sí, poca broma, i menys

Yes, no joke, and even less.

humor negre, perquè va ser

black humor, because it was

precisament en aquest moment, sobre el duet

right at this moment, about the duet

entre la Matilde i l'Arnold

between Matilde and Arnold

a l'inici d'aquell

at the beginning of that

segon acte del Guillem Tell de Rossini, que des

second act of Rossini's William Tell, which since

del cinquè pis, l'anarquista

from the fifth floor, the anarchist

Santiago Salvador va llançar a la platea

Santiago Salvador threw into the audience.

del Liceu dues bombes. La primera

from the Liceu two bombs. The first

va esclatar i va fer una vintena de morts

it exploded and caused around twenty deaths

i quinze ferits, que van ser

and fifteen injured, who were

després més a mesura que van avançar

afterwards as they progressed

les hores. La segona bomba no va esclatar

the hours. The second bomb did not explode

perquè, diguem que macabrament,

because, let's say morbidly,

va caure damunt de la falda d'una senyora

it fell on the lap of a lady

que ja era morta a conseqüència de la

that was already dead as a result of the

primera explosió. Això passava la nit

first explosion. This happened at night

del 7 de novembre de 1893

from November 7, 1893

i les files 13 i 14

and lines 13 and 14

de platea van ser, lògicament,

from the stalls were, logically,

les més afectades. Es diu que la

the most affected. It is said that the

primera bomba va caure sobre el

the first bomb fell on him

respatller de la butaca 24 de la

backrest of armchair 24 of the

filera 13. Només cal mirar la versió

Row 13. You just need to look at the version.

televisiva d'Històries de Liceu, on el Jaume

television of Liceu Stories, where Jaume

Radigales ens explicarà perfectament aquesta qüestió

Radigales will explain this issue to us perfectly.

i ens indicarà exactament quina

and will indicate exactly which one.

és la butaca de l'actual teatre. Lògicament

It is the armchair of the current theater. Logically.

no tenim el teatre anterior per poder

we do not have the previous theater to be able to

exemplificar-ho. Però fixem-nos en el

exemplify it. But let's focus on the

personatge principal, que és Santiago Salvador. Per què

main character, who is Santiago Salvador. Why

va escollir a Liceu per llançar aquestes bombes, Jaume?

Did you choose Liceu to drop these bombs, Jaume?

Santiago Salvador era un anarquista que va

Santiago Salvador was an anarchist who

actuar a títol individual per venjar

act individually to take revenge

l'execució al castell de Montjuïc

the execution at Montjuïc castle

mesos abans de Pauli Pallàs,

months before Pauli Pallàs,

que era un altre anarquista acusat d'haver

who was another anarchist accused of having

comès un atemptat amb bomba

committed a bombing attack

contra el general Martínez Campos,

against General Martínez Campos,

que era el capità general de Catalunya. Un

that was the Captain General of Catalonia. One

atemptat que es va saldar amb un

attack that resulted in a

ferit, amb un mort, perdó, que

wounded, with a dead person, sorry, that

no va ser precisament el capità general.

It was not exactly the captain general.

I el Liceu, clar, era un

And the Liceu, of course, was a

feu de burgesia, un cau de burgesos,

make of bourgeoisie, a den of bourgeoisos,

que era, diguem, la classe social

what it was, let's say, the social class

objectiu principal de l'anarquisme.

main objective of anarchism.

Barcelona era una ciutat

Barcelona was a city.

on hi havia un caldo de cultiu anarquista

there was an anarchist breeding ground

molt potent per a influència dels anarquistes

very powerful for the influence of anarchists

italians. I la cosa

Italians. And the thing.

era prou rellevant pel nombre

it was quite relevant for the number

de dàcrates que poblaven la ciutat,

of Dacrites who populated the city,

entre d'altres Santiago Salvador. Que va ser

among others Santiago Salvador. Who was he

apresat i després executat.

apprehended and then executed.

Sí, va ser el 21 de novembre de

Yes, it was on November 21st of

1894, un any i 14 dies

1894, one year and 14 days

després de l'atemptat. Bombes

after the attack. Bombs

orcini-erenè en una òpera de

orcini-erenè in an opera by

rossini, sembla un joc de paraules.

Rossini, it sounds like a play on words.

És l'acte més violent per petratar el Liceu

It is the most violent act to perpetrate the Liceu.

i esperem que sigui el darrer, esclar.

and we hope it will be the last, of course.

Sí, ens queda molt lluny tot això. Han passat

Yes, all of this is still very far from us. A lot of time has passed.

molts anys i fins i tot s'han escrit novel·les,

many years and even novels have been written,

han filmat pel·lícules en què la bomba

they have filmed movies in which the bomb

ha aparegut com a decorat de fons per

has appeared as a background decoration for

retratar uns anys que, sens dubte, eren

to portray some years that, without a doubt, were

de gran convulsió. Sí, però tot i la

of great upheaval. Yes, but despite the

llullania, queden encara descendants d'aquelles

Llullania, there are still descendants of those.

víctimes. Per exemple, la senyora Margarida Aparellada,

victims. For example, Mrs. Margarida Aparellada,

descendent de la família Cardallac,

descendant of the Cardallac family,

virulentament afectada per la bomba, ja que

virulently affected by the bomb, since

cinc membres de les famílies Cardallac en frons

five members of the Cardallac families in front

i Guardiola Cardallac van morir

Guardiola Cardallac died.

aquell 7 de novembre de 1893.

that 7th of November 1893.

Era el dia en què Consol Guardiola

It was the day when Consol Guardiola

i Cardallac, que tenia 14 anys, es presentava

And Cardallac, who was 14 years old, introduced himself.

en societat lluint el seu primer

in society shining her first

vestit llarg. Ella, precisament,

long dress. She, precisely,

va ser una de les persones que van morir.

he was one of the people who died.

Doncs li podíem preguntar a la senyora

Then we could ask the lady.

Margarida Aparellada quin record queda

Margarida Aparellada what memory remains

a la seva família d'aquell atemptat. El record

to his family from that attack. The memory

és saber que va ser un drama familiar

it's knowing that it was a family drama

importantíssim perquè van morir

very important because they died

cinc membres de la família

five family members

en aquella bomba

in that bomb

del 7 de novembre de 1893.

from November 7, 1893.

La bomba sembla ser que va caure

The bomb seems to have fallen.

directament a sobre de la fila

directly on top of the row

on estaven ells.

where they were.

Van morir

They died.

els meus besavis, Callo Cardallac

my great-grandparents, Callo Cardallac

i Mercè Plaja, dues germanes

and Mercè Plaja, two sisters

del besavi i una filla d'una

from the great-grandfather and a daughter of one

d'aquestes germanes. La meva àvia

of these sisters. My grandmother

i els seus germans

and his brothers

van quedar orfes en aquesta

they were orphaned in this

bomba de Liceu quan la meva àvia

Liceu bomb when my grandmother

tenia 4 anys i va quedar orfa.

She was 4 years old and became an orphan.

Van ser criats per la família Plaja.

They were raised by the Plaja family.

Ells eren Cardallac-Plaja i van ser

They were Cardallac-Plaja and they were

criats per la família Plaja.

raised by the Plaja family.

Per sumar-hi encara més mala sort,

To add even more misfortune,

la família Cardallac tenia les seves butaques

the Cardallac family had their own armchairs

però aquell dia van arribar tard i els van

but that day they arrived late and they were

situar en unes butaques que no eren

to sit in chairs that weren't

les seves. L'anècdota

theirs. The anecdote

o una anècdota que hi ha

or an anecdote that exists

referent a aquest fet és que

regarding this fact is that

aquelles no eren les seves butaques

those were not his chairs

de propietat, en tenien unes

of ownership, they had some

altres més a prop, però

others closer, but

precisament

precisely

resulta que van arribar tard perquè

it turns out they arrived late because

s'havia posat de llarg una noia de la

a girl from the

família i havien tingut

family and they had had

una celebració i havien arribat

a celebration and they had arrived

tard. I llavors en l'entret

Late. And then in the meantime.

acte es veu que l'acomodador

it is seen that the usher

havia col·locat altres persones

had placed other people

que eren les que

what were the ones that

els hi corresponien les butaques de la

they were entitled to the seats of the

fila on es van assentar finalment

row where they finally settled

en el lloc de la

in the place of the

meva família i

my family and

li va oferir la possibilitat de

he offered him the possibility to

canviar-los i segons s'explica

change them and as explained

la família doncs van dir no, no, és igual

the family then said no, no, it doesn't matter

ja ens quedem en aquesta i allà va ser on va acabar

we'll stay with this one and that was where it ended

la bomba. El que no sabem és

the bomb. What we don't know is

què sent la senyora Parellada cada vegada

What does Mrs. Parellada feel every time?

que va al Liceu i si algun cop s'ha assegut a la butaca

who goes to the Liceu and if at some point he has sat in the seat

24 de la fila de 13.

24 of the row of 13.

Fa molts anys que sóc comunada al Liceu

I have been a member of the Liceu for many years.

i sí que recordo

and yes, I do remember

crec que una temporada

I think a season.

que vaig tenir la fila de 13

that I had row 13

no sé si va ser

I don't know if it was.

no estic segura de si va ser una temporada

I'm not sure if it was a season.

o una funció en concret.

or a specific function.

El cas és que

The fact is that

però estava molt més a prop del passadís

but it was much closer to the hallway

central amb la qual cosa no

central with which not

crec que fos la 24 que

I think it was the 24 that

crec recordar que estava bastant més

I think I remember that it was quite a bit more.

cap al costat.

to the side.

Em vaig trobar amb el meu cosí

I ran into my cousin.

entre acta i em va preguntar on estava

During the act, she asked me where I was.

ell també està a platea com jo acostumo

he is also in the audience like I usually am

estar, estem tots dos a platea

we are both in the stalls

i li vaig dir estic a la fila de 13

And I told him I'm in line 13.

i diu no em diguis on va morir tota la família

And he says, don't tell me where the whole family died.

bueno, els membres de la nostra família

well, the members of our family

però ja dic

but I already say

que la 24 estic

that I am 24

gairebé segura que no ho era.

almost sure that it wasn't.

La vida del Liceu

The life of the Liceu

però més recentment i això ho tenim tots molt present

but more recently, and we are all very aware of this

l'activitat del teatre també s'ha vist alterada

The activity of the theater has also been disrupted.

però per una crisi sanitària.

but due to a health crisis.

Absolutament i per la nostra generació

Absolutely and for our generation.

és un dels exemples més evidents de

it is one of the most evident examples of

resiliència que ha estat superar

resilience that has been overcoming

aquesta crisi sanitària que de fet

this health crisis that actually

encara no ens hem sortit del tot

we still haven't completely made it out

creada per la Covid-19

created by Covid-19

i un dels símbols

and one of the symbols

de la crisi sanitària que ha estat superar

of the health crisis that has been overcome

la crisi sanitària que de fet encara no ens hem sortit del tot

the health crisis that in fact we still haven't fully overcome

pel Liceu va ser el concert

the concert was at the Liceu

pel Biocè.

for the Biocè.

Potser us recordeu quan encara l'activitat

Perhaps you remember when the activity was still on.

estava aturada a causa dels estrictes confinaments

was halted due to strict lockdowns

des del Liceu van decidir organitzar un concert

From the Liceu, they decided to organize a concert.

per interpretar el que escoltem de fons

to interpret what we hear in the background

els crisantemi de Puccini però amb un públic

Puccini's chrysanthemums but with an audience

molt especial, tot de plantes que omplien

very special, all the plants that filled

les butaques del teatre.

the seats of the theater.

N'hem parlat amb Víctor Garcia de Gomara, el director artístic

We have spoken about it with Víctor Garcia de Gomara, the artistic director.

del Liceu i li hem preguntat a qui se li va ocórrer

from the Liceu and we asked who came up with it

aquella idea.

that idea.

A mig de la primera onada de la pandèmia

In the middle of the first wave of the pandemic.

del Covid-19 vam tenir

from Covid-19 we had

l'oportunitat de presentar el Gran Teatre

the opportunity to present the Grand Theatre

del Liceu, el concert per les plantes

from the Liceu, the concert for plants

el concert del Biocè.

the Biocè concert.

La idea se li va ocórrer a l'artista

The idea occurred to the artist.

visual Eugenio Empudia

visual Eugenio Empudia

amb el qual som amics de fa un temps i havíem fet

with whom we have been friends for some time and had made

una acció performativa

a performative action

al Palau de la Música Catalana

at the Palau de la Música Catalana

i havíem estat amics

we had been friends

des d'aleshores i parlant de què podíem

since then and talking about what we could

fer vam parlar de la possibilitat

we talked about the possibility

que allà on no podien arribar els humans

where humans could not reach

poguessin arribar altres

others could arrive

éssers vius que encara podien viure

living beings that could still live

amb normalitat. Aquesta crida

with normality. This call

a una reflexió era

to a reflection was

que l'animal és aquell

that the animal is that one

que està destruint el seu propi hàbitat

that is destroying its own habitat

el propi planeta, mentre les plantes

the planet itself, while the plants

tenen aquesta resiliència

they have this resilience

aquesta capacitat també de sobreviure

this ability to survive as well

més enllà dels propis humans

beyond human beings themselves

i que les pròpies plantes

and that the plants themselves

celebraven una mena de rèquiem

they were celebrating a kind of requiem

pel planeta, un rèquiem també per l'ésser

for the planet, a requiem also for the being

humà. Amb molta simbologia

human. With a lot of symbolism

molta carga simbòlica i poètica

a lot of symbolic and poetic weight

també vam posar a tocar

we also played

un quartet de cordes i per tant

a string quartet and therefore

instruments també fets de fusta

instruments also made of wood

que ploreixin el crescentem

let them cry the crescent

i de Puccini, un composidor que és pròpiament

and of Puccini, a composer who is properly

operístic, aquest crescentemi

operatic, this crescent moon

són les flors que es dipositen

they are the flowers that are laid down

en els enterros

in the burials

i per tant la tradició també aquí

and therefore the tradition here too

juntava aquests elements simbòlics d'un rèquiem

I brought together these symbolic elements of a requiem.

plorat per les plantes

wept for the plants

que finalment conmogudes també aplaudien

that finally moved, also applauded

aquell final del concert.

that end of the concert.

Aquesta acció va tenir un impacte importantíssim

This action had a very significant impact.

això ho sabem ara, però s'ho imaginaven

we know this now, but they imagined it

quan ho estaven preparant? Va ser una acció

When were they preparing it? It was an action.

molt poètica que va tenir una enorme

very poetic that had an enormous

transcendència, de fet una setmana després encara

transcendence, in fact a week later still

80 diaris als Estats Units,

80 newspapers in the United States,

un mes, encara publicaven

a month, they were still publishing

la notícia en portada. Vam rebre

the headline news. We received

felicitacions de totes les parts del món, des de

congratulations from all parts of the world, from

Gustavo Dudamel, el carismàtic director

Gustavo Dudamel, the charismatic conductor

d'orquestra veneçolà a Los Ángeles,

Venezuelan orchestra in Los Angeles,

el Chris Martin

Chris Martin

de Coldplay, per exemple, entre molts

from Coldplay, for example, among many others

altres que van fer-nos arribar

others that contacted us

felicitacions de la commoció

congratulations on the shock

planetària i global

planetary and global

i va ser portada del National

and was featured on the National.

Geographic pocs mesos després

Geographic a few months later

i és una de les fotos aquestes

and it's one of those photos

de final d'any, de balanç, de pandèmia

year-end, assessment, pandemic

que han resultat més

that have resulted more

i més sublims, diguem, d'una

and more sublime, let's say, of a

acció feta des del Gran Teatre

action taken from the Grand Theatre

al Liceu, projectada amb una idea

at the Liceu, projected with an idea

una mica més local, nacional, però que

a little more local, national, but that

va sobrepassar de molt

it far exceeded

les expectatives que nosaltres tots teníem.

the expectations that we all had.

I Jaume, tot arriba a la seva fi. Ha estat un plaer compartir aquest projecte, tant en la versió radiofònica

And Jaume, everything comes to an end. It has been a pleasure to share this project, both in the radio version.

com en la versió televisiva. Ha sigut una feinada,

as in the television version. It has been a lot of work,

hem de reconèixer, però mira, al final

we have to acknowledge, but look, in the end

passa com tot amb aquests projectes. Quan estàs

It happens like everything with these projects. When are you?

arrencant-los és una feina que dius, no ens en sortirem

Getting them out is a job that makes you think, we won't manage it.

i quan arriba al final dius, però si ha sigut un passeig.

And when you reach the end you say, but it has been a walk.

Ja està, ja està.

It's done, it's done.

Absolutament. I ha sigut molt interessant

Absolutely. And it has been very interesting.

perquè a menys jo ja reconeixer que he après moltes coses del Liceu

because at least I already acknowledge that I have learned many things from the Liceu

que no sabia i que les remencant

that he didn't know and that they were mixing them up

doncs ha permès conèixer-les

then it has allowed knowing them

i conèixer molta gent vinculada amb el Liceu, que això també

and meet many people connected with the Liceu, which this also

és una cosa que sempre és interessant.

It is something that is always interesting.

I la de coses que han quedat al tinter, com per

And the things that have been left unsaid, like for

fer una segona temporada.

to make a second season.

Però deixem aquí, deixem aquí, no t'espantis.

But let's leave it here, let's leave it here, don't be scared.

Ja ho parlarem més endavant. En tot cas,

We'll talk about it later. In any case,

el que hem de dir i que

what we have to say and what

quedi per sobre de tot és que

what matters above all is that

no deixeu d'anar al Liceu, no deixeu d'anar

don't miss going to the Liceu, don't miss going

de donar, vaja, suport

to give, well, support

a la cultura. Sempre, això sempre.

to the culture. Always, this always.

Què en faríem sense la cultura? Res.

What would we do without culture? Nothing.

Res. I ara hi posem una mica

Nothing. And now we put in a little.

de música.

of music.

Pots recuperar

You can recover

totes les històries del Liceu

all the stories of the Liceu

al web catmusica.cat

to the website catmusica.cat

En filem, doncs, al final

We film, then, in the end.

d'aquests 16 programes que hem pensat

of these 16 programs that we have thought of

i creat amb la idea de fer un recorregut per la història del Liceu

and created with the idea of taking a journey through the history of the Liceu.

a través de molts punts de vista

through many points of view

i el darrer ha estat precisament el capítol

and the last has been precisely the chapter

que hem volgut dedicar a la capacitat de reneixer

that we have wanted to dedicate to the ability to be reborn

d'un teatre malgrat les moltíssimes

of a theater despite the countless

adversitats que ha hagut de

adversities that he/she has had to

recórrer al llarg d'aquests 175 anys de vida.

to travel throughout these 175 years of life.

I és que l'art i l'òpera és una de les

And the fact is that art and opera is one of the

expressions més completes de l'art

most complete expressions of art

que sempre sobreviu. Sempre.

that always survives. Always.

Doncs, com a metàfora de tot plegat, us proposem

Well, as a metaphor for all of this, we propose to you

marxar escoltant una de les escenes

leave listening to one of the scenes

més emblemàtiques de Puccini, el seu Nessun Dorma

more emblematic of Puccini, his Nessun Dorma

de Turandot, amb la veu...

from Turandot, with the voice...

És que és inconfessible... És inevitable, no?

It's that it's unconfessable... It's inevitable, isn't it?

Posar la veu de Luchona Pavarotti.

Put the voice of Luchona Pavarotti.

Abans, però, vull donar les gràcies al Liceu,

Beforehand, however, I want to thank the Liceu,

així com a la Direcció de Catalunya Música, per la confiança

as well as to the management of Catalunya Música, for the trust

i llibertat que ens han dipositat

and freedom that they have entrusted to us

per crear aquests programes. I, com no,

to create these programs. And, of course,

Jaume, gràcies de nou.

Jaume, thank you again.

Gràcies a tu. Ha estat un veritable plaer.

Thank you. It has been a true pleasure.

Mai millor dit. Ho diré per darrera vegada.

Never better said. I will say it for the last time.

Oriol Pinar, el control tècnic, Mercè Rigual,

Oriol Pinar, the technical control, Mercè Rigual,

la producció i Jaume Radigales, els guions.

the production and Jaume Radigales, the scripts.

Gràcies a tots i ens retrobem

Thank you all and see you again.

al Gran Teatre del Liceu.

at the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Adéu.

Goodbye.

Gràcies.

Thank you.

Històries del Liceu és una coproducció

Stories of the Liceu is a co-production.

de la Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals

of the Catalan Corporation of Audiovisual Media

i la Fundació Gran Teatre del Liceu.

and the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation.