LICEU. La rosa dels set pètals posters, a co-creation process

Irene Calvis, 25 July 2025

In 2018, the LiceuApropa social program started a new line of community opera creation, Opera Prima, to develop a production every three years, in which the communities involved participate jointly in its co-creation. Each community project reflects the identity of the people and groups involved, who find themselves in a common space as part of the process of artistic creation. In this sense, each opera is and will be unique, giving voice to its participants and creators considering it will speak of realities, multiculturalism, language and sounds. The different communities will participate in the co-creation are accompanied by artists and professionals from the sector, with the aim of guaranteed access to culture for people in vulnerable situations or those who are far from the operatic world as a tool for training and social integration and that can contribute to four areas of action:

❖ musical writing and dramaturgy

❖ musical and choral performance

❖ construction of technical and stage elements

❖ communication area

It is within the communications area of the community project being carried out with the Sant Andreu District of Barcelona, thanks to the collaboration and support of AMPLIFY, that the co‑creation process for the posters of the opera La rosa dels set pètals (“The Rose of the Seven Petals”) has taken place. This creative process began in March 2025 and lasted four months, with the results presented on July 1 at the Liceu.

With the idea of involving different neighborhoods in the Sant Andreu district and following the principle of access to culture for people in vulnerable situations, two specific organizations were invited to co-create the visual identity of the project. On one hand, the Art Therapy Association Artenea, whose mission is to improve the quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities through Art Therapy and Complementary Therapies. On the other hand, the Llotja School of Art and Design. The first is in the Congrés i els Indians neighborhood, and the second in La Sagrera. They had never worked together before. They didn’t know each other. Both organizations saw an interesting opportunity and decided to take on the project.

But they were not alone. The artist specialized in collage techniques, Rebeka Elizegi, would accompany and guide them in a respectful and non-interventionist way throughout the process, and the Liceu would supervise the entire process, with the only initial condition being that the artistic proposal must be based on photography, to align with the communicative style of the entire opera season.

The creation would be based on a reading of the libretto for La rosa dels set pètals, which had already been written by playwright Blanca Bardagil. Blanca was present on one occasion, explaining the libretto, and the artists were able to ask questions, make comments, get to know her, and bond with her. In the case of the Artenea artists, understanding the libretto was facilitated by the group leaders themselves, but also by the students from the Llotja school, who, in a special session at the school’s headquarters, explained the plot using a beautiful artistic proposal made with paper cutouts.

The creative process followed a strict weekly schedule: every Tuesday at the Congrés i els Indians neighborhood community center, home to Artenea. After the Artenea youth gathered for their afternoon snack, Carla, Albert, and Gemma, the students from the Llotja School, arrived with their teacher, Òscar Julve. Once everyone was together, the creative engagement began: playful sessions, exploration, and shared evenings in good company. This was a co‑creation process born from mutual knowledge, a genuine desire to collaborate, interpersonal connection, and affection, and it unfolded in a natural, organic way.

In the first phase of the project, the artist Rebeka proposed exploring the technique of collage. The artists from Artenea printed photos of themselves, and Rebeka brought in images of a wide variety of everyday objects (photos of ice creams, animals, hearts, balls, cars, flowers, etc.), which the Artenea artists cut out to experiment with collage, creating new figures by juxtaposing the cut-out images. Suddenly, one artist’s eyes were made of two cars.

To the collage, a second layer was added: adding color using various materials such as acrylic paint, wax and others.

Another important element to highlight was the research work carried out by the three students from the design school, who searched for archival photos that reflected the “landscape” and historical moment depicted in the libretto. These images were also cut out and given a second life through the playful freedom that collage allows.

This past July 1st, in the Mestres Cabanes Rehearsal Room at the Liceu, the results of this creative process were presented to the public. It was the artists themselves who explained how the process unfolded. Liceu staff, along with the families of the artists, had the chance to discover the wonderful work that had been done.

The process was not only about fulfilling a commission, but also about self-discovery and walking the path together. In this sense, the young people and educators from Artenea came to the Liceu to see the operas Madama Butterfly (December 7) and Rusalka (July 4), and the students from Llotja attended Madama Butterfly (December 7), Lohengrin (March 15), and the activity Toca Liceu (March 4).

One of the most beautiful aspects of a community project is everything that happens along the way. For example, the Liceu’s Costume Department collaborated voluntarily and enthusiastically to advise on and partially create costumes for a dance performance taking place this October, in which some of the members of Artenea will be dancing.

The posters for the opera La rosa dels set pètals will be used to promote the opera on the main façade of the Liceu in the days leading up to the performances on June 3, 4, and 5, 2027. They will also be distributed across the city of Barcelona in various advertising formats, such as banners and ads on city buses. In addition, the images of the opera are going to be in a smaller, postcard size format with which we want to disseminate at the Sant Andreu District, cultural facilities, social entities, cultural facilities, music school and organisations and associations in the area linked to the communication of cultural/social actions.

THE ARTISTS

ARTENEA

Alba, Albert, Alberto, Antonio, Carlos, Carolina, David, Guillem, Josué, Laura, Maria, Pasqual, Quique, Susana, Susanna, Sofía i Victoria

LLOTJA

Albert, Carla, Gemma

GUIDERS

Rebeka Elizegi, Susana Gómez, Marc Molina, Òscar Julve, Núria Mendoza, Deimis Alejandra Vargas, Liceu social program