On 5 March, the seventh edition of Barcelona Obertura Ciutat de Clàssica gets underway, launching nearly a month of classical music across the Catalan capital. Running until 1 April, the festival brings together 52 concerts and more than 500 artists, combining major ticketed productions at the city’s leading venues with a free concert circuit across all ten districts.
Coordinated by Turisme de Barcelona and supported by the City Council’s Department of Culture and Creative Industries, the project forms part of a broader strategy to strengthen Barcelona’s international cultural profile and position the city as a destination for high-value cultural tourism. Ciutat de Clàssica is part of Barcelona Obertura, the joint initiative of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Palau de la Música Catalana and L’Auditori.
International artists at the centre of the programme
The festival’s main venues host 24 ticketed concerts and opera performances featuring internationally recognised artists.
At the Gran Teatre del Liceu, a new production of Manon Lescaut opens on 17 March under the musical direction of Josep Pons and staged by Àlex Ollé. The cast includes soprano Asmik Grigorian in the title role and tenor Joshua Guerrero as Des Grieux. The theatre also presents a recital by Juan Diego Flórez on 19 March, as well as Handel’s Orlando in concert version with Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 as part of the Liceu Orchestra’s symphonic cycle.
The Palau de la Música Catalana offers twelve programmes during the festival. Pianists Jan Lisiecki and Víkingur Ólafsson appear in recital, while Bach’s St John Passion and St Matthew Passion are performed by leading baroque ensembles. Other guests include soprano Julia Lezhneva with Il Giardino Armonico, the Balthasar Neumann Chor & Orchester, and the Franz Schubert Filharmonia under Leonard Slatkin. The Cor de Cambra del Palau presents the world premiere of Mujer pájaro by Gabriela Ortiz.
At L’Auditori, highlights include Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 performed by the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC) under Pablo González, and a recital by Martha Argerich with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by Charles Dutoit, performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1. The programme also features appearances by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, the Quartet Casals and Jordi Savall.
Music across the city
Alongside the main-stage events, the festival includes 27 free concerts distributed across Barcelona’s ten districts. Around 250 musicians take part in performances hosted in historic buildings, museums, civic centres and modernist landmarks.
Ten new venues join the circuit this year, including Casa Vicens, the Fundació Julio Muñoz Ramonet and the Palauet Albéniz. In the context of the Year of Gaudí, the festival launches a Gaudí Circuit presenting concerts in modernist spaces and highlighting Catalan composers active during the architect’s lifetime.
The free programme is structured around three artistic lines: a focus on Catalan modernism; a strand dedicated to women composers active between the 19th and 20th centuries, including Luise Greger, Margarete Schweikert and Johanna Müller-Hermann; and a spotlight on Karol Szymanowski.
Due to high demand in previous editions — when tickets sold out within minutes — access to the free concerts will be allocated by lottery.
Positioning Barcelona internationally
According to figures from the 2025 edition, the free concerts reached a 98% attendance rate. Data from the 2024–25 season indicate that international audiences can account for up to 20% of attendees at certain concerts at the three main venues.
Barcelona Obertura also offers curated musical packages grouping selected concerts throughout the season, aimed at visitors combining performances with the city’s architectural and gastronomic attractions. The initiative is integrated into Turisme de Barcelona’s broader cultural tourism strategy, which seeks to diversify tourism flows and reinforce Barcelona’s image as an international centre for culture and music.
With its blend of high-profile productions and citywide programming, the festival once again positions classical music as a key element in Barcelona’s international cultural agenda.
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