"Roger Alier's last great satisfaction was this medal", said Jordi Maddaleno excitedly after collecting the gold medal from the Gran Teatre del Liceu on behalf of his teacher in opera criticism, an institution that he did not hesitate to call "the great everyone's theater. Those attending the delivery, yesterday during a meal in the hall of mirrors of the great theater, offered as a tribute the most heartfelt applause to Alier, who died two weeks ago and who had received the news with great enthusiasm. Maddaleno also recalled that Alier has always opted for culture "because it feeds and enriches us as people, it gives us freedom."
It had been ten years since the Liceu had stopped awarding its gold medals, and it did so again yesterday as the culmination of the celebration of its 175th anniversary, which was reviewed by the president of the Liceu foundation, Salvador Alemany. At the beginning of the act, presented by the journalist Judit Jordana –with institutional representation of the Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga; the general director of Inaem, Joan Francesc Marco, or the new City Council Commissioner for Culture, Xavier Marcé–, Alemany has highlighted the leap in artistic quality of these two seasons, with relevant productions such as Briten's War Requiem, The Magic Flute directed by Dudamel, Macbeth under the stage direction of Plensa or Alexina B. de García-Tomàs, but he also emphasized other initiatives such as the Petit Liceu, the Liceu Mar project or the micro-operas, in addition to advancing "the end of the slab historical debt”, which is expected to be canceled next season.
The president of the Cercle del Liceu, Francisco Gaudier, assured when collecting the institutional gold medal that with the great theater they form "an indissoluble marriage" that gives "mutual support", and predicted "a promising future" for the relationship. It was an honor shared ex aequo with the Societat del Gran Teatre del Liceu, which its president, Manuel Busquet, wanted to set as an example of "public-private and citizen collaboration", and assured that "here, commedia non è finita".
Upon receiving her gold medal in dance, Assumpció Aiguadé recalled how she had entered the theater at the age of 13, where she spent 33 years as a dancer and choreographer, and wanted to share the award with "all the dancers who have worked here, who can show that they they know how to dance and that there are people who are worth a lot”.
There were also distinctions for philanthropy and patronage. On the one hand, to the Puig family, the president of whose foundation, Xavier Puig, pointed out that his objectives of "Barcelona, culture and education" are met by collaborating with the Liceu, which "is a benchmark in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain and the world". On the other hand, the La Caixa Foundation received the medal for its deputy director general, Elisa Durán, who highlighted that "culture and music are a tool for personal growth and social integration", with examples such as the recent edition of Clàssica a la Platja or La gata perduda, the community opera that they have done with the residents of Raval.
The other artistic gold medal went to soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, who radiantly and happily confessed that when you spend your life traveling, "what we want is to be at home", because, beyond technique and voice, "what is important it is love, happiness, family and friends, and here I feel at home”, ending by stating, in Spanish: “My heart belongs to the Liceu and Barcelona”.
Catalan version, here
