RogerEvansOnline.com

After having painted here a rosy scenario for the opera houses in Spain two years ago despite a precipitous economic downturn, it is dispiriting to see that the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona is being forced to shut down for two months. Distressing as this is in general, I’m relieved to see that three performances, in May, remain for Xavier Montsalvatge’s “magic opera” El gato con botas, in commemoration of the centenary of the composer’s birth and the tenth anniversary of his death.

The economy is, of course, hitting everybody and everything hard, but considering the difficult times during which the Liceu has managed to stay open in the last century, one hopes a solution can be found for this major company that plays in the second-largest opera house in Europe.