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© Gran Teatre del Liceu
Nadine Sierra and Pretty Yende - Concert
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 November 2025 | ||||||
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Two indispensable sopranos in the global opera scene
The opportunity to enjoy two of the most beautiful voices in the world
The stage of the Gran Teatre del Liceu will host the return of two international scene protagonists: Pretty Yende and Nadine Sierra. Two indispensable sopranos in the global opera scene.
Pretty Yende, who previously performed at the Liceu in I Puritani and also in La Traviata immediately after the pandemic, returns to Barcelona after her performance at the coronation ceremony of King Charles III of England. On the other hand, Nadine Sierra has achieved significant success in performances at the Liceu with titles such as Lucia di Lammermoor and Manon. Pablo Mielgo will take the podium to conduct the Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.
After the overture of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, we will hear a sequence of interventions dedicated to Italian opera, spanning from the bel canto of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini to the Romanticism of Verdi. The journey will continue to offer some gems from Nicolai, Delibes, Lehar, or Offenbach, before concluding the concert with Neapolitan songs, Rossinian tarantella, and the iconic "I Feel Pretty" from Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story.
Pretty Yende's career, a South African soprano, began with a series of prestigious awards. She became the first artist in the history of the Vienna Belvedere Competition to win the highest recognition in both the Opera and Operetta categories in 2010. Her studies, started at the South African College of Music, culminated at the Academy of Teatro alla Scala in 2011. Since her professional debut in Riga as Micaëla in Carmen, she has graced the stages of the most prestigious international venues.
Soprano Nadine Sierra, born in Florida, completed her studies at Mannes School of Music in New York, continuing with the Adler Fellowship program at San Francisco Opera. Numerous accolades have propelled her international career. In 2017, she won the Richard Tucker Award and in 2018 received the Beverly Sills Artist Award at the Metropolitan Opera.
This recital, which has so far only been experienced at the Philharmonie de Paris and Teatro San Carlo in Naples, will be the opportunity to enjoy two of the most beautiful voices in the world.
Program and cast
Duration: approximately 1h 40min
Soprano: Nadine Sierra
Soprano: Pretty Yende
SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA OF THE GRAN TEATRE DEL LICEU
Conductor: PABLO MIELGO
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.
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