HISPASAT and Barcelona's Opera House, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, have signed a collaboration agreement to broadcast operas via satellite

December 4, 2018


• The operator will support the Multimedia Project of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation by providing spatial capacity to broadcast four shows live.

• The agreement will allow Liceu to bring its stage beyond the theatre walls and reach distant audiences, who will be able to enjoy the opera shows throughout Spain and beyond our borders within the coverage of HISPASAT's satellites.

• This initiative forms part of HISPASAT's Corporate Social Responsibility policy, collaborating with the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation to promote opera culture.

MADRID, 4 December 2018. HISPASAT, the Spanish satellite telecommunications operator, and the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation have signed a collaboration agreement today in Madrid to broadcast four operas live via satellite, both nationally as well as internationally. These broadcasts form part of the theatre's Multimedia Project, focused on developing and promoting opera culture.

The signing ceremony was attended this morning by the president of HISPASAT, Elena Pisonero, and the president of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Foundation's Board, Salvador Alemany. For the president of the Spanish operator, “this agreement reaffirms HISPASAT's commitment to promoting culture. Our satellites are the ideal technological infrastructure for these types of projects, because they are the most efficient to broadcast an event live to any point within their coverage with the highest image and sound quality. We are proud to collaborate with the Liceu in broadcasting these shows and to bring the art of opera to a greater number of people."

For his part, Salvador Alemany highlighted that “in 2001 the Gran Teatre del Liceu was one of the first institutions worldwide to start a live opera project. Since then our goal has been to seek stronger partnerships to continue developing a leading multimedia project that keeps Liceu well positioned on the international scene. Formalising this agreement today with HISPASAT is key to consolidate this initiative which opens borders and further democratises the opera genre”.

As part of theagreement, the Gran Teatre del Liceu will offer three opera titles from its next season via satellite: L’Italiana in Algeri, by Gioachino Rossini, (18 December 2018) and La Gioconda, by Amilcare Ponchielli, (7 April 2019), which will be broadcast live in cinemas around the world; and Tosca, by Giacomo Puccini, (28 June 2019), which is included in the “Liceu a la fresca” programme, a project to bring opera outdoors to the streets so that as many people as possible can enjoy the show. The agreement also includes the broadcast of Manon Lescaut, by Giacomo Puccini, as part of the same programme, which was on 16 June 2018.

The agreement is part of HISPASAT's Corporate Social Responsibility policy and its commitment to help Spanish institutions to bring their culture to the public. With this agreement, HISPASAT will help Liceu to open up to the outside world, allowing its stage to extend well beyond the theatre's walls to reach other audiences in different parts of Spain and around the world. This way, the theatre's artistic performances can benefit from satellite technology to overcome physical barriers and bring the opera to other environments, thus making it accessible to a much greater number of viewers.

Liceu a la Fresca

The works by Giacomo Puccini are part of the “Liceu a la Fresca” project, which aims to improve knowledge about music and spread the love of opera by bringing it to audiences outside of Barcelona, broadcasting the shows live in cities in Spain and other countries such as France, Portugal, Andorra and Italy. HISPASAT already allowed the music to reach these countries and thanks to the newly signed agreement and the extensive coverage of its satellites, the opera from Liceu can also be enjoyed in the Americas.

About the Gran Teatre del Liceu

The Gran Teatre del Liceu, created in 1847 in Les Rambles in Barcelona, is an opera theatre that has been operating as a cultural and artistic centre throughout its history. In its more than 150 years of history, it has become a national and international point of reference, featuring renowned solo artists and creative teams. It is among the 15 most important theatres in the world.

About HISPASAT

HISPASAT is comprised of companies that have a presence in Spain as well as in Latin America, where its Brazilian affiliate HISPAMAR is based HISPASAT is a world leader in content distribution in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries and its satellite fleet is used by important direct-to-home television (DTH) and high-definition television (HDTV) digital platforms. HISPASAT also provides satellite broadband and connectivity services, which include broadband access, mobility and the backhaul networks, in addition to other added value solutions for governments, companies and telecommunication operators in America, Europe and North Africa. HISPASAT is one of the world's largest companies in its sector in terms of revenue, and the main communications bridge between Europe and the Americas.

Press contact:

María Felpeto – tel. +34 91 710 25 40 – mfelpeto@hispasat.es / comunicacion@hispasat.es


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