The Barcelona opera house is putting on a concert for plants

After a three-month closure, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu gets back to business this week with an unusual audience – one that won’t need to wear masks or use hand sanitiser every few minutes. Artist Eugenio Ampudia is filling the red velvet seats in the famous opera house on La Rambla with 2,292 plants. They’ll be the audience for a ‘Concert for Biocoenosis’, during which the UceLi Quartet performs Giacomo Puccini’s ‘Crisantemi’ (‘Chrysanthemums’).

Mere humans can catch the concert – set for Monday, June 22 at 5pm – as it streams from the Liceu’s website. This performance serves as a prelude to the 2020/21 season, which the opera house announced this week, and which aims to deepen the dialogue between music and the visual arts.

The initiative, in collaboration with the Max Estrella Gallery and curated by Blanca de la Torre, asks that we examine our relationship with nature. It also recognises health workers who have been on the front line, as 2,292 healthcare professionals will each receive a plant accompanied by a certificate from the artist.