Seville, Friday, May 23, 2025.- In the Royal Artillery Factory, the mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz, presented this morning the Seville Opera Festival, a new and ambitious operatic project that aims to establish itself as a reference in odd years in the city. Biennially, the Festival will bring together from September 25 to October 12, 2025, great operas and recitals in seven different venues: the Royal Artillery Factory, the Royal Alcázar, the Turina Space, the Maestranza Theater, and the Palaces: Palacio de las Dueñas, Casa Salinas, and the Hospital de la Caridad.
At this event, the poster of the show was also presented, in which the world of contemporary art and the lyrical universe converge in an unprecedented collaboration that promises to redefine the visual image of opera in the 21st century. Ana Barriga, a Jerez-born artist, has been chosen to conceive and create the official graphic image of this new and significant operatic event that will be part of the «Seville, City of Opera» program, a project of the city council launched by the Tourism and Culture department.
This bold and visionary choice underlines the municipality’s commitment to innovation and dialogue between different artistic disciplines, trusting in the powerful and unique vision of the artist to capture the essence and future of lyricism. Ana Barriga, with her unmistakable style that navigates between the playful and the profound, the everyday and the extraordinary, has captivated critics and audiences in the international art scene. Her work, which often starts from found objects, toys, or popular figures to subvert their original meaning and give them a new and complex narrative, is a mirror of contemporary society, full of irony, nostalgia, and surprising visual polysemy. The choice of Barriga, an artist whose imagery draws on current visual culture and the re-signification of recent history, to represent a genre with the rich and rooted tradition of opera, is not accidental; it is a statement of intent.
Barriga’s work is characterized by its ability to take familiar, even trivial elements, and transform them into icons full of emotion and unexpected meaning. Her vibrant compositions, full of color and textures, create a recognizable visual universe. By transferring this sensitivity to the poster of the Seville Opera Festival, a new channel of communication is opened. It is no longer just about illustrating a scene or an iconic character from a specific work, but about evoking the experience of opera through a contemporary, fresh, and almost provocative visual language.
The poster signed by Ana Barriga is not just an informative piece but a work of art in itself, designed to generate intrigue and conversation. Her disruptive style in the context of traditional operatic graphics will attract attention, arouse curiosity, and send a clear message: this event is not afraid to engage with the avant-garde, explore new aesthetics, and, most importantly, offer a relevant and exciting lyrical experience for today’s audience. In this sense, the author of the poster has stated, «The coexistence of the dramatic and radical duality of opera, where life and death, joy and drama, love and heartbreak, and other expressions like sarcasm, pathos, or the ridiculous of opera buffa coexist, has always caught my attention. I am deeply honored by this invitation. It is a huge challenge because there is no previous reference image, but it is also a great opportunity to create something free and emotionally powerful.»
At the same event, the programming was presented with the intervention of Francisco Soriano as the Festival’s curator, its artistic director. Soriano is a pianist, and since 2002, he has been a piano teacher by competition and, since 2019, a Professor of vocal repertoire at the Manuel Castillo Higher Conservatory of Music in Seville. He trained at the Royal Higher Conservatory of Music in Madrid, the Higher School of Music in Catalonia, and the «F. Chopin» Music University in Warsaw (Poland), where he studied on a scholarship from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Andalusian Government. In the words of the show’s curator, Francisco Soriano: «Today is a historic day for our city. We are not just presenting a festival but the birth of a long-gestated dream that aims to strengthen the deep bond between Seville and opera. This festival is born with a vocation for excellence, rootedness, and future. We want to celebrate our legacy — with figures like Manuel García and the 150th anniversary of Carmen — but also look to the present and the future, with new creations, living heritage spaces, and a diverse program. Seville is not just a stage: it is a muse, a driving force, and a protagonist of universal lyrical history. May this festival be the first of many, may Seville sing, and may the world listen.»
Programming of the Seville Opera Festival 2025:
Real Artillery Factory
The Royal Artillery Factory, one of Seville’s most emblematic industrial spaces, is transformed into the Festival’s headquarters and the epicenter of avant-garde performance with four productions of strong dramatic and aesthetic content. In the Foundry hall, Philip Glass’s opera «Les Enfants Terribles,» a production of the Seville Opera Festival – Seville City Council, directed by Susana Gómez, with musical direction by Juan García Rodríguez and choreography by Florencia Oz, can be seen on September 26, October 2, and October 5. On the other hand, in the Carlos III Courtyard, the Baroque Orchestra of Seville will perform Claudio Monteverdi’s «Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda,» a production of the Peralada Festival, with stage direction by Joan Antón Rechi and musical direction by Fausto Nardi, on October 1 and October 3.
The Magallanes Forum in the same venue will host «Don Juan does not exist,» an opera by Helena Cánovas with a libretto by Alberto Iglesias, a co-production of the Castell de Peralada Festival, the Royal Theater, the Maestranza Theater of Seville, and the Seville Opera Festival – Seville City Council with the collaboration of the Polish Institute and the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, within the framework of the celebrations of the European Union presidency. This contemporary proposal, which reinterprets the myth from a current perspective, can be seen on October 7 and October 9. On the other hand, in the venue’s scenic hall, on October 10 and October 11, «Es lo contrario,» a spoken opera by César Camarero, a production of the Maestranza Theater of Seville, will be performed.
All shows at the Royal Artillery Factory will start at 10 p.m.
Royal Alcázar of Seville:
In the Royal Alcázar of Seville, a heritage gem and a symbol of the city’s aesthetic power, «Il Califfato di Bagdad,» the opera by Manuel García, will be presented on September 25 and September 27, starting at 10 p.m. This production, also by the Seville City Council, with stage direction by Guillermo Amaya and musical direction by Alessandro D’Agostini, alongside the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville.
Additionally, on October 12, starting at 12 p.m., in the Tapestry Hall, a recital starring mezzo-soprano Nerea Berraondo and pianist Anna Malek, «Central European and Slavic music inspired by Carmen’s era,» a chamber proposal that dialogues with the architecture and spirit of the venue, will take place.
Maestranza Theater of Seville:
At the Maestranza Theater of Seville, two proposals can be enjoyed as part of the festival’s program. On the one hand, «Don Giovanni,» by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a production of the Maestranza Theater of Seville in collaboration with the Oper Köln, with stage direction by Cecilia Ligorio and musical direction by Iván López Reynoso. This performance will take place on October 4, 8, 10, 11, and 12, with the participation of prominent soloists, the Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville, and the Theater Choir. These shows will start at 8 p.m., except for the one on October 12, which will begin at 6 p.m. On the other hand, on October 6 at 8 p.m., the countertenor Franco Fagioli will offer an intimate recital with pianist Michele D’Elia.
Turina Space:
The Turina Space, a regular reference for live music in Seville, will host four recitals that highlight the versatility of the lyrical genre. On September 28 at 12 p.m., the renowned mezzo-soprano Vivica Genaux will open the cycle with Carles Blanch, Rami Alqhai, and Egon Mihajlovic performing Domenico Scarlatti’s works. Two days later, on September 30 at 8 p.m., the Daahoud Salim Quintet will present «Groovin’ Carmen. Jazz standards inspired by Bizet’s Carmen.» On October 5, in a morning session starting at 12 p.m., Accademia del Piacere, led by Fahmi Alqhai, with soloists Lucía Martín-Cartón and Juan Sancho, in «Il Gran Teatro del Mondo. Human passions in Spanish and Italian theatrical music,» will take the stage. Finally, starting at 8 p.m. on October 8, Carol García, Elena Sancho Pereg, and Teodora Oprisor will perform «Paris, Seville, Havana. Hispanic-French connections around Carmen.»
Palace Houses: Dueñas, Salinas, and Hospital de la Caridad:
The Palace Houses – Palacio de las Dueñas, Casa Salinas, and the Hospital de la Caridad – will offer an incomparable setting for «Quien porfía mucho alcanza,» an opera by Manuel García, a production of the Seville Opera Festival – Seville City Council. Adapted for these intimate spaces, it will be presented on consecutive dates during the last days of September, specifically on September 28, 29, and 30, with stage direction by Emiliano Suárez and musical direction by Rubén Sánchez-Vieco. This proposal recovers the spirit of salon opera, so linked to the musical history of the city, in an architectural and acoustic context deeply linked to the character of «Seville, City of Opera.»
The shows at the Palace Houses will start at 10 p.m.
Tickets will be available for purchase soon through the Festival’s website.
FUENTE
