Barcelona Opera House Reopens With Concert For 2,292 Plants

Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu opened to a full house on Monday for its first concert since it closed in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Yet not a single person had tickets — and that’s because each one of the hall’s 2,292 seats was occupied by a houseplant.

During the event, which was the work of conceptual artist Eugenio Ampudia, the leafy crowd was treated to a performance of Puccini’s “Crisantemi” by the UceLi Quartet, according to a press release from the Liceu. And although no humans were in the audience, spectators could watch the “Concierto para el bioceno” via livestream.

Liceu’s press release did not include any information as to whether the plants were regulars at the concert hall or green to the scene, but it did describe the event as “a highly symbolic act that defends the value of art, music and nature as a letter of introduction to our return to activity.”

The UceLi Quartet string quartet rehearses in front of its green audience on Monday. After a strange, painful period, the creator, the Liceu’s artistic director and the curator Blanca de la Torre offer us a different perspective for our return to activity, a perspective that brings us closer to something as essential as our relationship with nature.”

That explanation seems to beat around the bush, but one thing that is crystal clear is that each of the plants will be donated to a health care worker at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona.

And that’s something we can all root for.