Facing a 7 million euro cut in its budget, the Liceu has been forced to shorten its 2013-14 season, which will now begin in November instead of September. Just eight operas will be presented, and two of these are one-acters.
Where it has not stinted is in vocal quality. Juan Diego Florez, Diana Damrau and Joyce DiDonato are just some of the big names recruited, and recitals are scheduled from Philippe Jaroussky, Edita Gruberova, Jonas Kaufmann, Nina Stemme, Angela Gheorghiu and Anja Harteros (bona sort on the last two, chaps).
Some of the productions will be familiar to London operagoers. David McVicar's ENO Agrippina features Danielle De Niese, Sarah Connolly and David Daniels. Laurent Pelly's ROH Cendrillon comes complete with the Covent Garden casting of Joyce DiDonato, Alice Coote and Ewa Podles, but the ROH Marelli La Sonnambula should be improved by the addition of Juan Diego Florez and Diana Damrau. Dmitri Tcherniakov's The Invisible City of Kitezh, much admired on its Amsterdam debut, and a double bill consisting of Il Prigioniero and Suor Angelica complete the list of productions new to Barcelona.
That leaves room for only two revivals: Tosca and the Carsen Die Walküre (with Irene Theorin, Anja Kampe and Klaus Florian Vogt).
