Moments of change at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. The musical director of the lyrical coliseum, Josep Pons, will be the new head of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie (German Radio Philharmonic) starting in the 2025-26 season, which will combine both institutions for twelve months before definitively abandoning the opera Barcelona, in July 2026. Pons will succeed the Finnish director Pietari Inkinen at the head of this prestigious German institution, leaving behind the stage in which he has lived dedicated since 2012 to the project to improve the artistic bodies of the Liceu.
The news was announced at the same time that the jury of the Ópera XXI met to deliberate on the awards granted by the association of theaters and lyrical festivals in Spain. And precisely in this sixth edition of these awards, Maestro Pons won the award for best musical direction for Parsifal, the opera by Richard Wagner that could be seen at the Liceu in May 2022.
The theater thanks him today, in a statement, for the “rigorous and tireless” work he has maintained in the transformation and renewal of the orchestra, with an increase of 12 new seats and the renewal of up to 34 musicians. Public and critics have recognized his improvement, although he remains to focus on the last phase of the choir's renewal, together with its director, Pablo Assante.
