With Le nozze di Figaro (1786), the poet Lorenzo Da Ponte began his collaboration with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which would continue with two more operas: Don Giovanni (1787) and Così fan tutte (1790). And it must be said that the first of the three operas is the most perfect in terms of theatrical machinery. It is logical, therefore, that Marta Pazos has enthusiastically embraced the proposal made by the Liceu. Three weeks before her debut at the Grec Theatre with The Threepenny Opera (Dreigroschenoper), the Galician director has culminated a work processed through slow cooking in terms of ideas and the overall design of the show.Pazos has based the dramaturgical concept of this Nozze di Figaro on the famous article Notes on Camp, which Susan Sontag published in 1964. The North American writer states, among other things: "The camp sensibility is one that is open to a double meaning in which things can be taken. But it is not about the familiar dichotomous construction of a literal meaning, on the one hand, and a symbolic meaning, on the other. It is, rather, the difference between the thing as it means something, anything, and the thing as pure artifice." This passage is, I think, the keystone of Pazos's idea when approaching Mozart's opera. The aesthetic category of camp, markedly baroque and postmodern, permeates the show with good ideas, some close to the universe of Barrie Kosky and with occasional choreographic touches that are only partially effective. The giant cake that presides over the stage designed by Max Glaenzel – based on an idea by Pazos herself – is complemented by Agustín Petronio's costumes, markedly and deliberately grotesque, and to which, I think, the reference to packaging associated with culinary products that we all consume is superfluous. And Pazos explains the opera's story well, although he leaves a more precise portrait of the characters in the inkwell. Nevertheless, the production was liked and received more ovations than protests.

There is a desire to play in the mischievous gaze of the Galician stage director Marta Pazos. More than provoking, she seeks to surprise. "Laughter originates in the unexpected," she recalls at a press conference regarding the new production of Le nozze di Figaro (1786), the first masterpiece by the tandem formed by Mozart and the poet Lorenzo Da Ponte. The production, directed by Pazos and with Giovanni Antonini leading the orchestra, will have fourteen performances from June 4 to 21. "I am having a great time in this production by Marta that surprised us so much at first," assures the soprano from El Montsià, Sara Blanch, Susanna in a first cast shared with the Italian bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni (Figaro), the Russian soprano Julia Lezhneva (Cherubino), the Italian baritone Andrè Schuen (Count Almaviva), and the Guatemalan soprano Adriana González (Countess Almaviva), among others. "I have sung the role of Figaro many times, and I have found a very fresh production, with a very new approach," exclaims Pisaroni, who is performing in substitution of baritone Konstantin Krimmel, who is out due to a foot injury. Everyone agrees: they are having a lot of fun. "And I hope it will be a success," says Schuen, who is finally debuting at the Liceu in an operatic role after having given many lied recitals around the country. after having given many lied recitals around the country.

The National Opera of Paris, La Scala of Milan, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Royal Opera House of Covent Garden, the Salzburg Festival, the Peralada Festival... The 2026 agenda is quite eloquent about the magnificent artistic moment of soprano Sara Blanch (Darmós, Ribera d'Ebre, 1989). Until May 9th, she is performing the leading female role in Debussy's opera Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala, a good testament to the breadth of repertoire that a singer forged in bel canto is tackling, and who at the same time has authoritatively entered the universes of Gluck, Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Britten, among others. "I like to work on different repertoires, as long as they are suitable for my voice, because that way I explore possibilities. It's about looking at the evolution of the voice and where I can go according to the physical and vocal sensations of the moment," she explains to el ARA by phone from Milan. Undoubtedly, 2026 is Sara Blanch's year, a more than deserved reward for the work done and what she can achieve.

Sara Blanch is one of the most prominent Catalan opera singers of today. Born in Darmós, a small town in the Ribera d'Ebre region, at just 36 years old she has become a regular soloist in the Gran Teatro del Liceo seasons. She has already performed on major international stages and has established herself everywhere as a great interpreter of the opera. bel canto Italian. A light lyric soprano with a great gift for the high notes and coloratura, combined with an absolute command of expressiveness and nuances, she will debut at the Vilabertran Schubertiad, one of the most important lied competitions in Europe, next Tuesday, August 19, with a recital of works by German composers. After a summer full of high-flying engagements, the 2025-26 season begins in just a few weeks, once again full of stimulating appointments, with premieres at the Royal Opera House in London, the Paris Opera and La Scala in Milan, in addition to the return to the Liceu, in June, with Le nozze di Figaro.