SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA GRAN TEATRE DEL LICEU CONCERT
The Orquestra Simfònica del Gran Teatre del Liceu is the oldest orchestra in Spain. Throughout more than 170 years of history, it has been conducted by the greatest maestros, from Arturo Toscanini to Erich Kleiber, from Otto Klemperer to Hans Knapperstsbusch, from Bruno Walter to Fritz Reiner, Richard Strauss, Alexander Glazunov, Ottorino Respighi, Pietro Mascagni, Igor Stravinsky, Manuel de Falla and Eduard Toldrà, up to the present day with Riccardo Muti and Kirill Petrenko. Moreover, it has been the protagonist of the premieres in the Iberian Peninsula of remarkable universal operatic repertoire, from the baroque to the present day, sharing the stage with the best soloist voices.
It was created in 1847 with a symphonic concert conducted by the maestro Marià Obiols. Then, the first opera Anna Bolena, by Donizetti, was presented. Since then, it has performed continuously throughout the Teatre's seasons. Since the 1999 reconstruction, its conductors have been Bertrand de Billy (1999-2004), Sebastian Weigle (2004-2008), Michael Boder (2008-2012) and, since September 2012, Josep Pons.