Les Arts inaugurates ENSEMS with the premiere of 'Estètica i Massacre', Oriol Pla's first foray into the operatic scene

ENSEMS

Les Arts inaugurates ENSEMS with the premiere of 'Estètica i Massacre', Oriol Pla's first foray into the operatic scene

• The Teatre Martín i Soler hosts two performances of this chamber opera about the tyranny of beauty, with music by Carles Prat and a libretto by Carlota Gurt.
• The Ensems International Festival of Contemporary Music will celebrate its 48th edition from September 17 to 27, 2026 in Valencia.

Valencia (September 26). The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía begins its operatic activity next Thursday, September 17, with the premiere of 'Estètica i Massacre', the chamber opera by Carles Prat, with which Emmy winner Oriol Pla makes his debut as stage director.

Les Arts returns to the ENSEMS Festival program with this intelligent satire on the tyranny of beauty, which will inaugurate the 48th edition of Spain's oldest contemporary music festival with two performances at the Teatre Martín i Soler.

Originally conceived as a 30-minute micro-opera in Barcelona's Liceu opera house's Òh!pera program to showcase young composers, its excellent reception led Carles Prat and librettist Carlota Gurt to double its length with a second act, transforming it into an hour-long chamber opera. Its recent premiere this summer at the Ópera a quemarropa festival at the Teatro de San Lorenzo de El Escorial and at the 40th Peralada Festival has caused a sensation.

'Estètica i Massacre' reflects, from a caustic and hyperbolic point of view, on the limits and reasons for aesthetic intervention through the diametrically opposed reaction of its two protagonists in their desire to achieve maximum virality: a baritone, who progressively embraces the canons and dictates of feminine beauty, while the soprano who embodies his partner, renounces them to adopt the opposite path.

“It’s a shame when, deep down, we destroy our own selves just to please others,” says Oriol Pla, who makes his stage debut with this work. The first Spaniard to win an acting Emmy (for the series 'Yo, adicto'), he brings an approach focused on physical movement, which has become one of the opera's main strengths. His work is supported by Josep Iglesias' set design, Alba Semper's costumes, and Mariona Ubia's lighting.

According to the artistic director of Les Arts, Jesús Iglesias Noriega, 'Estètica i Massacre' is an ideal title because it is "one of the most brilliant examples of the ability of lyric poetry to provide new codes for reflecting on society."

“The relevance of an opera house lies not only in the excellence with which it approaches the repertoire, but also in promoting and disseminating new creations. 'Estètica i Massacre' is, moreover, an excellent way for the public to find answers to the questions that currently concern society in a genre with more than 400 years of history.”

Beatriz Traver, Deputy Director of Music and Popular Culture at the Institut Valencià de Cultura, highlighted the opportunity to open the festival with this show: "Opening this edition of Ensems with such a highly anticipated and topical contemporary opera as Estètica i massacre is a commitment to new operatic creation, to daring productions and to winning over new audiences, and it is possible thanks to the collaboration with Les Arts, which allows us a luxurious premiere in the quintessential Valencian opera house."

'Estètica i Massacre' will be performed on the 17th and 18th at the Teatre Martín i Soler in Les Arts. Tickets can be purchased through the theater's various sales channels: box office, the sales line 96 197 59 00, and the Les Arts website.