Barcelona Opera Plays to Flowering Plants Instead of People

By Jill Brooke

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Barcelona’s Liceu opera executives – along with conceptual artist Eugenio Ampudia – came up with a fantastic idea to inspire their musicians and the public for their first concert post-Covid19 this week.

Instead of an empty audience and a concert hall with sterile empty seats, the musicians looked upon a full house of blooming plants.

What a brilliant idea.

Yes, we’ve seen all types of ideas shopped around. One place in Japan used teddy bears to fill seats to insure social distancing. Another place used mannequins.

But flowering plants inspire in a completely different way. They soothe, calm and bring joy. They are living entities.

“[The Liceu] welcomes and leads a highly symbolic act that defends the value of art, music and nature as a letter of introduction to our return to activity,” its statement read.

To a delighted livestream audience, the UceLi Quartet performed Puccini’s “Crisantemi” for its audience of 2,292 plants at the Gran Teatre del Liceu which executives called a prelude to its 2020-2021 season.

Plus, the plants will subsequently be delivered to 2,292 healthcare professionals, specifically at the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, accompanied by a certificate from the artist.

This inspired idea, which also involved the Max Estrella Gallery and the curator Blanca De La Torre, could be a fantastic solution for other live events struggling to come up with viable ideas of entertainment.

The statement also explained that  “after a strange, painful period, the creator, the Liceu’s artistic director and the curator Blanca de la Torre offer us a different perspective for our return to activity, a perspective that brings us closer to something as essential as our relationship with nature.”

Organizers also wrote that they wanted to recognize the work of health care providers, who have served “on the toughest front in a battle unprecedented for our generations.”

Once again, flowers and plants inspire!