Catalan opera critics have rated Pelléas et Mélisande del Liceu as the best show of the 2021-22 season. Debussy's title, which was performed last February at the Rambla theater, also won the critics' award, organized by Amics del Liceu, for staging, signed by Àlex Ollé, and for musical direction, by Josep Pons, who in turn is recognized for his performance on the podium in Wozzeck, by Alban Berg. Both titles from the 20th century repertoire in which the musical director of the Gran Teatre is a specialist.
In terms of vocals, the awards that take into account the operatic season throughout Catalonia, have gone to the German baritone Matthias Goerne, as best male performer, both for his leading role in Wozzeck and for his performance in War Requiem, by Benjamin Britten, the oratorio with which he started last season at the Liceu.
The Latvian soprano Marina Rebeka has been awarded as best female performer for the complex role of the bel canto singer Norma, by Bellini, while the Barcelona soprano Serena Sáenz takes the award in the category of newcomer singer for her performance in the production of Don Pasquale de Òpera de Sabadell, a title that has been repeated with great success at the start of the Liceu season. Finally, the countertenor Franco Fagioli is recognized for his concert at the Palau de la Música Catalana.
The jury's special prize recognizes the resilience of the opera houses of Catalonia and the rest of Spain for having kept their doors open despite the Covid-19 pandemic. As for the category of Most Notable Error of the Season, the jury agreed that the stage proposal for the Liceu's 175th anniversary concert "was not up to the occasion".
The jury for the Amics del Liceu awards was formed by Jorge Binaghi, from Mundoclasico, Marcel Cervelló from L'opera magazine, Maricel Chavarría from La Vanguardia, Antoni Colomer from Núvol, Pablo Meléndez-Haddad from El Periódico, Javier Pérez Senz from El País and Radio Clásica, Oriol Pérez Treviño of El Punt Avui, Nació Digital and 440 Clásica
