Cultural and Political Manoeuvres in an Operatic Setting

Abstract The armed uprising of 18 July was the catalyst for a series of artistic and management reforms of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. On 27 July 1936, the G.T. del Liceu was newly decreed as the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (National Theater of Catalonia). The legal provision stated that “the Government of Catalonia has seized all those buildings that are, in fact, the heritage of the people of Catalonia as part of their education and to strengthen their knowledge of culture.” This chapter explores the evolving organizational and artistic trajectory of this landmark theater, and the ways in which this reflected the changing political landscape of Barcelona both during and in the immediate aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. It also reflects on the ways in which the theater and its programming were tied to political propaganda, and even occasionally employed as a setting for international diplomacy.