The Gran Teatre del Liceu has hosted the Gala ceremony of the 8th Òpera XXI Awards, the national awards that recognise excellence in opera. The ceremony honoured several productions presented and premiered at the Liceu during the past season. The awards were presented this Friday, 15 May, for the first time on the stage of the Liceu, in a gala directed by Joan Anton Rechi and hosted by tenor José Manuel Zapata and actress Llum Barrera, featuring performances by the award-winning artists.
Watch the gala again on LiceuOPERA+
The Gran Teatre del Liceu hosted tonight the presentation ceremony of the 8th Òpera XXI Awards, the national opera awards, in a ceremony that once again brought together leading figures and institutions from the Spanish and Latin American opera sector around a celebration of artistic excellence, stage creativity and the collective work that sustains each opera season.
The gala, stage-directed by Joan Anton Rechi and hosted by tenor José Manuel Zapata and actress Llum Barrera, moved away from the conventional award ceremony format and transformed the Theatre into a dramatic space, turning the event into a scenic experience shaped by music, humour and emotion. At the piano, Miguel Huertas took on an active theatrical role in an evening conceived as a continuous dialogue between the stage and the very nature of opera.
The evening began with a statement of intent: soprano Sabina Puértolas, awarded Best Female Singer, opened the ceremony from the back of the stalls dressed as Elizabeth I in Gloriana, slowly crossing the Theatre while performing the Tango de la Menegilda. Pulling a small ceremonial cannon on toy wheels and playing with the audience’s complicity throughout the journey, the singer transformed the stalls into a scenic space and set the tone for a ceremony that claimed opera as a living, accessible and deeply theatrical language.
“Tonight we present the Òpera XXI Awards, eighth edition, season 2024–2025. The awards of Spanish opera. Which is a very elegant way of saying: the people who have kept all of this alive,” said Llum Barrera at the opening of the gala. Throughout the evening, the award presentations alternated with musical performances by prize-winning and guest artists.
After the first block of awards, tenor Jorge de León —winner of the Best Male Singer award— performed the romance from the zarzuela Soledad (Rodrigo Prats), accompanied by Miguel Huertas. Later, he shared the stage with José Manuel Zapata in a comic performance featuring the Tango de doña Virtudes (La Gran Vía). Soprano Lora Grigorieva also took part, a student at the Centre de Perfeccionament of the Palau de les Arts —awarded this year with the Honorary Award for Cultural Institution— who performed Connais-tu le pays? from Mignon by Ambroise Thomas.
Sabina Puértolas later returned to the stage with an aria from Manon by Jules Massenet, in one of the most emotional moments of the evening. The jury of this eighth edition, made up of prestigious national and international music critics and journalists, recognised the best of the 2024–2025 season among productions and artists presented between 1 September 2024 and 31 August 2025.
Among the award winners were conductor Gustavo Gimeno, awarded Best Musical Direction for Eugene Onegin at Teatro Real; Àlex Ollé, awarded Best Stage Direction for Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and Il trovatore at the Palau de les Arts; and soprano Sabina Puértolas and tenor Jorge de León as Best Female and Male Singers of the season. The award for Best Young Singer went to bass Manuel Fuentes, while American soprano Nadine Sierra received the award for Best Foreign Artist for her outstanding presence on Spanish stages during the season, a recognition she acknowledged through a video message apologising for her absence.
In the creative and technical categories, awards went to Alfons Flores (set design), Felipe Ramos (lighting design), Ana Garay (costume design) and Pedro Chamizo (video creation). The award for Best New Production went to The Tale of Tsar Saltan by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, presented at Teatro Real with stage direction and set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov, while Benjamin at Portbou by Antoni Ros-Marbà, commissioned and premiered at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, received the award for Best New Contemporary Opera Creation. The educational and outreach dimension of opera also played a prominent role during the ceremony.
The award for Best Opera Outreach Initiative or Project recognised the work of La Federica for its stage and musical training with young performers and its ability to bring opera closer to new audiences. The Spanish Opera Heritage Award recognised the revival of El gitano por amor by Manuel García, produced by Ópera Estudio de Málaga, while the award for Best New Latin American Production, presented in collaboration with Ópera Latinoamérica, recognised the Teatro Colón production of Billy Budd.
The gala also presented three honorary awards. The Honorary Award for Cultural Institution went to the Centre de Perfeccionament of the Palau de les Arts for its work in training young artists; the Honorary Award for Best Patronage Initiative was presented to Fundación Banc Sabadell; and the Honorary Award for Professional Career recognised the founders of Asociación Ópera XXI for their contribution to the development and consolidation of the Spanish opera sector over the past two decades. Òpera XXI president Isamay Benavente highlighted during her speech the collective nature of the opera profession: “Today we celebrate excellence, but above all we celebrate dedication. Opera is not an art of soloists, not even when the spotlight shines on just one person. It is a complex ecosystem that requires, above all else, a genuine spirit of collaboration between all the sectors that form part of it inside and outside the theatre.” “Collaboration is the only thing that makes us invincible,” she added.
The Òpera XXI Awards are supported by the National Institute for Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) of the Spanish Ministry of Culture.
The artists, creators and projects awarded in this eighth edition of the Òpera XXI Awards will receive their prizes during a gala directed by Joan Anton Rechi. They are:
- Award for Musical Direction. Gustavo Gimeno, for his work conducting Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky at Teatro Real in Madrid in January 2025.
- Award for Stage Direction. Àlex Ollé, for his work directing Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Dmitri Shostakovich at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in September 2024, and Il trovatore by Verdi at the Palau de les Arts de València in December 2024.
- Best Singer Award (male category). Tenor Jorge de León, for his interpretation of Radamès in Aida by Verdi during the Málaga season (Teatro Cervantes, March 2025) and at Oviedo Opera (December 2024); for the role of Calaf in Turandot by Puccini at Teatro de la Maestranza (November 2024); and for the title role in Otello by Verdi at ABAO Bilbao Opera (May 2025).
- Best Female Singer Award. Soprano Sabina Puértolas, for her interpretation of Anna Bolena by Donizetti at Oviedo Opera (September 2024); for Marina by Emilio Arrieta at Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid (October 2024); and for her interpretation of Violetta in La traviata by Verdi at Teatro Real in Madrid (20 July 2025).
- Best Young Singer Award. Bass Manuel Fuentes, for his participation in the double bill of L’heure espagnole by Maurice Ravel and Gianni Schicchi by Puccini at the Palau de les Arts de València (April and May 2025).
- Best Foreign Artist Award. Soprano Nadine Sierra, for her interpretation of Violetta in La traviata at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (February 2025) and at Teatro Real in Madrid (June–July 2025); for the role of Amina in La sonnambula by Bellini at the Liceu (April and May 2025); and for performing the role of Maria in the symphonic version of West Side Story by Bernstein at the Liceu (July 2025).
- Best Set Design Award. Alfons Flores, for Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at the Liceu (September 2024), Don Pasquale at ABAO Bilbao Opera (October 2024) and Il trovatore at the Palau de les Arts de València (December 2024).
- Best Lighting Design Award. Felipe Ramos, for La vida breve by Falla and Tejas Verdes by Jesús Torres at Teatro Real in Madrid (February 2025), and for Iphigénie en Tauride by Gluck at Teatro de la Maestranza (February 2025).
- Best Costume Design Award. Ana Garay, for her work on Il trittico by Puccini at ABAO Bilbao Opera (November 2024).
- Best Video Creation Proposal Award. Pedro Chamizo, for Marina by Arrieta at Teatro de la Zarzuela (October 2024), and Il trittico by Puccini at ABAO Bilbao Opera (November–December 2024).
- Best New Contemporary Opera Creation Award. Benjamin at Portbou by Antoni Ros-Marbà, at the Gran Teatre del Liceu (July 2025).
- Best Opera Outreach Initiative or Project Award. Resident Children’s Company of Oviedo Opera, La Federica.
- Best New Production Award. The Tale of Tsar Saltan by Rimsky-Korsakov, at Teatro Real in Madrid (April–May 2025), with stage direction and set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov.
- Spanish Opera Heritage Award. El gitano por amor by Manuel García, revived by Ópera Estudio de Málaga.
- Best New Latin American Production Award. Billy Budd by Benjamin Britten, in the new Teatro Colón production, with stage direction by Marcelo Lombardero.
JURY MEMBERS
Gonzalo Alonso, Maricel Chavarría Espuny, José Luis Jiménez, Alejandro Martínez Rodríguez, Pablo Meléndez-Haddad, Javier Pérez Senz, Pablo L. Rodríguez, Justo Romero, Victoria Stapells, Fernando Sans Rivière and Ana Vega Toscano, all of them prestigious music critics and journalists working both within and outside Spain.
HONORARY AWARDS
The Òpera XXI Assembly unanimously granted the three Honorary Awards of this eighth edition.
The Honorary Award for Cultural Institution will recognise the Centre de Perfeccionament of the Palau de les Arts for its work in training high-level young singers and musicians. Its model combines academic excellence and stage practice, integrating artists into professional productions.
The Honorary Award for Best Patronage Initiative will recognise Fundación Banc Sabadell for its support of culture, education and research. Its support for young talent and opera projects contributes to creative development and innovation within the sector.
The Honorary Award for Professional Career Achievement will pay tribute to the founders of Asociación Ópera XXI, founded in 2005 as a representative organisation for the sector. Their work has consolidated a key space for dialogue and cooperation within the Spanish opera scene.
The Òpera XXI Awards are supported by the National Institute for Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sport.
These awards represent the commitment of Asociación Ópera XXI, currently made up of 28 theatres, opera seasons and festivals, to recognising the intense opera activity in Spain and the artistic and creative talent that can be enjoyed on Spanish stages season after season.
Òpera XXI brings together the 26 most important stable opera theatres, seasons and festivals in Spain and includes two honorary member theatres of major relevance. Its members are:
ABAO Bilbao Opera
Amigos Canarios de la Ópera
Amigos de la Ópera de A Coruña
Amigos de la Ópera de Mahón
Asociación Gayarre de Amigos de la Ópera de Navarra
Asociación Amigos de la Ópera de Vigo
Auditorio de Tenerife
Festival Internacional de Música Castell de Peralada
Festival Little Ópera Zamora
Fundación Baluarte de Pamplona
Fundació Òpera a Catalunya
Fundación Ópera de Oviedo
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Gran Teatro de Córdoba
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía de València
Teatro Arriaga de Bilbao
Teatro Calderón de Valladolid
Teatro Campoamor de Oviedo
Teatro Cervantes de Málaga
Teatro Circo de Albacete
Teatro de la Maestranza de Sevilla
Teatre Principal de Maó, Menorca
Teatre Principal de Palma, Mallorca
Teatro Real de Madrid
Teatro Villamarta de Jerez
Teatro de la Zarzuela de Madrid
Honorary members:
Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires
Teatro Nacional de São Carlos de Lisboa