Barcelona’s Grand Teatre del Liceu presents György Ligeti’s sole opera “Le grand macabre” in a stunningly imaginative and highly theatrical production by La Fura dels Baus - a production that had already claimed enormous success in Brussels, London and Rome and - as the British Independent proclaimed - “only comes along once a decade”.

Ligeti’s (1923-2006) absurd-tragicomical masterpiece of the highest order blends popular theatre, comics, pop art, cabaret, caricature and the Apocalypse with fascinating imaginativeness. The orchestra, for example, is enhanced with “instruments” such as car horns and doorbells. Ligeti himself – one of the great composers of the later 20th century – called his work an “anti-anti-opera.”

Premiered in Stockholm in 1978, the work is based on a play by Michel de Ghelderode (1898-1962) and unfolds in an imaginary land inspired by the famous Dutch painter Pieter Brueghel the Elder: Nekrotzar, the Grand Macabre, announces the end of the world, but in a land ruled by eros, alcohol and corruption, his plan to unleash the Apocalypse bursts like a soap bubble. The people continue to lead their lives as before and refuse to be frightened by thoughts of death and a dark future…

Masterfully rendering the colourful score is conductor Michael Boder and the orchestra and chorus of the Liceu, with a top-notch cast.

Cast:
- Piet The Pot: Chris Merritt
- Amando: Inés Moraleda
- Amanda: Ana Puche
- Nekrotzar: Werner Van Mechelen
- Astradamors: Frode Olsen
- Venus / Gepopo: Barbara Hannigan

Stage Directors: Àlex Ollé, Valentina Carrasco
Staged by: La Fura Dels Baus

Live recording from the Gran Teatre Del Liceu, Barcelona, 2011.
World Premiere Recording

“The result is splendid […] It is rare that everything fits so well” - El País

“A rousing and compellingly presented, surreal spectacle, simply breathtaking!” - Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

Special Features: "Fear to Death“: Making of Le Grand Macabre & Interview with Michael Boder

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1
Picture Format: 16:9, 1080i
Format: 25 GB (Single Layer)
Subtitle Languages: GB (Original Language), IT, DE, FR, ES, Korean, Catalan, JP
Running Time: 122 mins + 42 mins (bonus)
FSK: 12
Region Code: 0
Worldwide available, excluding Japan