Barcelona: Plácido Domingo welcomes the President’s Circle
On 30 April 2015, Members of Europa Nostra President’s Circle gathered in Barcelona on the occasion of the concert performance of the rarely performed Verdi’s opera “I Due Foscari” at the Liceu, the historic Opera House of Barcelona, starring Maestro Plácido Domingo, President of Europa Nostra. After this moving opera performance, Maestro Domingo and members of the President’s Circle attended a fund-raising dinner in support of the planned restoration and subsequent illumination of the historic façade of the Liceu Opera located at the very heart of Barcelona – Las Ramblas.
Members of the President’s Circle visited a series of outstanding heritage sites in Barcelona and made contacts with several public and private foundations dedicated to the safeguard of cultural heritage. Photo: Europa Nostra
In Barcelona, Europa Nostra’s President Plácido Domingo, stated: “I am particularly pleased to welcome members of the President’s Circle in my native country, Spain. I am also delighted that next year, the Europa Nostra Congress 2016 will be held in my native city, Madrid. This Congress will be organised in close cooperation with Hispania Nostra, coinciding with the celebration of the 40th anniversary of dedicated service to heritage by this organisation, which is Europa Nostra’s key contact in Spain. I hope many of our members will come to Madrid on this occasion – together we shall demonstrate”.
During their stay in Barcelona, Members of the President’s Circle visited a series of outstanding heritage sites in Barcelona and made contacts with several public and private foundations dedicated to the safeguard of cultural heritage.
Their programme started with the special guided visit of the on-going construction works at Sagrada Familia which are supposed to be finished by 2026 for the centenary of the start of the works under the creative leadership of Antonio Gaudi.
The programme continued with a special visit of the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion kindly organised by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation, organisation which is responsible for the running of the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture.
Finally, members of the President’s Circle enjoyed the discovery of two other gems of the Catalan Art Nouveau – il stilo Modernista, namely the Palace of Catalan Music, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, which figure on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and the Casa Amatller, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, which was recently opened following its careful restoration by the Amatller Foundation with the support of the Foundation of Caja Madrid.
