"I've had this summer marked on my calendar for years."

BarcelonaSince 2021, when composer Helena Cánovas Parés won the Carmen Mateu European Award for Young Opera and Dance Artists, she knew what would happen in August 2024. "I'd been marking this summer on my calendar for years," she explains. The culmination of many months of work came on August 8th at the Castell de Perelada Festival, with the premiere of her opera. Don Juan does not exist, which reinterprets the myth of Don Juan and pays tribute to women artists who have been silenced.

A different, much-anticipated, and special summer, which in a way felt like returning home: it was her first professional commission in Spain. She started the summer in Germany, where she's lived since completing her master's degree in composition and began receiving commissions. From the beginning of July, she spent five weeks between Barcelona and Peralada to put together the show. It was a learning experience, intense days of rehearsals during which she barely stopped, but with a feeling of vacation. She admits that working in Barcelona, with friends, and in a place as beautiful as Peralada, made it even more special: "everything was magical."

I wanted that Don Juan does not exist was the result of a collective creation. From the moment she found the librettist, Alberto Iglesias, they grew their original idea. Then came the stage director, Bárbara Lluch, and months later the musicians, pianist, set designer, and costume designer joined. When she settled in Peralada on July 31, lights and microphones appeared. It was an intense process, sharing a very personal project that, as the summer progressed, opened up to more people, right up to the day of the premiere: "It's curious, because you give a lot of yourself when composing and you feel vulnerable in front of an unknown audience. At the same time, that's when everything makes the most sense: I compose so that someone can hear it."

On the day of the premiere, she couldn't believe it, nervous, excited, and sad. A project that meant so much to her was coming to an end. She didn't have much time to celebrate. A couple of days later, she returned to Germany: she had work, and she was about to start AvantGarten Liedberg, the contemporary music festival that she directs in various public spaces in a town of 300 inhabitants. She says she was very tired and it was good to get back home and back to work: "Even though premiering your opera at such an important festival is fantastic, it's not my daily routine. I enjoyed it, but I didn't want to stay in that frenzy." Finally, in September, she was able to take a well-deserved week's vacation.