ESTÈTICA I MASSACRE

Estètica i massacre, Lyric Violence

With music by Carles Prat and a libretto by Carlota Gurt, this is perhaps one of the boldest and most innovative proposals in contemporary Catalan opera, fusing avant-garde sonorities with direct emotional force, seeking not aesthetic complacency but rather narrative tension through an atmosphere that is at once suffocating and magnetic. Oriol Pla's stage vision injects overwhelming physical and theatrical vitality, its language rooted in movement, bodily expressiveness and impeccable dramatic rhythm, which, far from merely accompanying the voice, becomes a visceral driving force, leaving no room for stillness as words, gestures and music collide with unsettling intensity.

The renowned Catalan actor Oriol Pla, winner of the 2025 Emmy Award for Best Actor for the series I, Addict, embarks on operatic stage direction with Estètica i massacre, approaching it as an act of listening and balance, driven by a genuine desire to challenge convention and reshape the genre from within. This small chamber opera was the most successful work in the Gran Teatre del Liceu’s Òh!pera project, a programme designed to foster contemporary creation and support initiatives by young musicians and artists. At Les Arts, a new version is presented, distinct from the one previously seen in Barcelona. On stage, two rising singers —soprano Maria Patak and baritone Carlos Varela— are accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble of piano, clarinet, violin and percussion, conducted by the work’s composer, Carles Prat.