EN
DE
IT
FR
ES
RU
JP
RO
© Gran Teatre del Liceu
Recital Ermonela Jaho
Order tickets
 May 2026 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
Her first solo recital at the Liceu
Winner of the Best Artist of the Year award at the International Classical Music Awards
Born in Albania, Ermonela Jaho is synonymous with pure emotion. The Liceu hosts her first solo recital in the Theatre after being crowned as one of the queens of this stage.
Winner of the Best Artist of the Year award at the International Classical Music Awards, Jaho arrives at the Liceu after achieving significant success at the Met in New York.
After her first singing lessons at the age of 6, at 14 she was taken to the Tirana Opera to listen to La traviata: a seminal moment when she decided to become an opera singer. At 19, she was already in Rome to continue her studies at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
Her vibrant performances and exceptional identification with the roles she plays make Ermonela Jaho an incomparable singer.
Acclaimed in the greatest theaters of the circuit, she has been described as "one of the great interpreters of verismo" and "an unstoppable phenomenon."
Her creed is that "to make others cry, you must first cry yourself." This personal maxim is evident in the two heroines she has sung the most: Butterfly and Traviata (more than thirty productions of both titles).
The Liceu has been fortunate to present her in the tragic rituals of Cio-Cio San, Desdemona, Antonia, Violetta, Liù, and Suor Angelica.
With a carefully curated program that brings together bel canto authors and composers representative of French and Italian Romanticism, we warmly welcome this sensitive and unique artist, synonymous with goosebumps.
Program and cast
Approximate duration: 1h 10min
Soprano: Ermonela Jaho
Piano: Rubén Fernández Aguirre
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Barcelona's opera house, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, was founded on the Rambla in 1847 and has continued over the years to fulfil its role as a culture and arts centre and one of the symbols of the city.
Today it is publicly-owned (by the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Provincial Council and the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte) and administered by the Fundació del Gran Teatre del Liceu which, in addition to the aforementioned bodies, incorporates the Patronage Council and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu (the old society of owners).
Origins: From 1837 to 1847
The Liceu evolved out of the Sociedad Dramática de Aficionados (Society of theatre-lovers) set up in 1837 at the instigation of Manuel Gibert in the former convent of Montsió by members of the National Militia, an organization of armed citizens with liberal leanings.
Barcelona's economy and population were growing fast at the time and the city needed a music conservatory. This led to the conversion of the Sociedad Dramática into the Liceo Filármonico Dramático Barcelonés de S.M. la Reina Isabel II (Barcelona Dramatic and Philharmonic Lyceum of HM Queen Isabel II). In addition to its theatrical activities, the new organization cultivated Italian-style singing and music.
The building on the Rambla
The original building was solemnly opened on 4 April 1847. The plans had been drawn up by Miquel Garriga i Roca, subsequently assisted by Josep Oriol Mestres. The project was funded by selling shares, which meant that many of the boxes and seats were to be privately owned. The shareholders formed the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu, known as the “Societat de Propietaris” (Society of Owners), which was in sole charge of running the Gran Teatre del Liceu from 1855 onwards, after it was legally separated from the Conservatori del Gran Teatre del Liceu.
The theatre was operated by impresarios who were given a concession to stage a specific number of productions in exchange for the proceeds from the sale of tickets not reserved for the Societat itself. This system was to endure until 1980.
The creation of the Consortium
By the last quarter of the 20th century this management system was no longer viable. In 1980, to avert the danger of the disappearance of an institution of such worldwide cultural renown, the Generalitat Catalonia's first government in modern times – set up a consortium, the Consorci del Gran Teatre del Liceu, which also incorporated Barcelona City Council and the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu. Barcelona Provincial Council joined the Consortium in 1985, followed by the Spanish Ministry of Culture in 1986. From then on the Consortium took over operation of the theatre.
Related events