The operatic tradition linked to themes from Ancient Egypt has, throughout the history of the genre, yielded tasty fruits such as Giulio Cesare in Egypt by Handel or Aida by Verdi, in addition to Sestri by our Domènec Terradellas or contemporary creations in the style ofAnthony and Cleopatra by John Adams (which the Liceu hosted in 2023).

Everything suggests that Akhnaten will be one of the highlights of the Barcelona opera season. "It's a total spectacle," says Víctor Garcia de Gomar, the artistic director of the Liceu, who has scheduled six performances from October 19 to November 3, plus a seventh for those under 35 on October 16. Certainly, this production, with stage direction by Phelim McDermott, has all the elements that should guarantee an artistic success. First and foremost, the score by Philip Glass (Baltimore, 1937), who composed this opera about the Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti in 1983. It was the culmination of the first trilogy about characters that had begun with Einstein on the beach (1976) and Satyagraha (1980), about Gandhi.