Every city has one or more theatres, cinemas, sport stadiums and maybe an opera. In Barcelona you can find another kind of stage of musical entertainment: the Palau de la Musica Catalana.
This Palace was built between 1905 and 1908 and is now part of the UN world heritage. A theatre and an opera bringing plays on stage. Actors playing their roles and opera singer sing their classical opera songs. You have a stage and a pit for the orchestra below the stage with an open space between the audience and the front border of the stage.
The Palau is different. There is no orchestra pit, as you can see in the photo above. The whole stage is kind of small and very special. My next will be on the stage itself.
The palace was built following the current style at the building time: Art Nouveau. While looking around by using the photos in the attached gallery, pay attention to the big glass window in the ceiling and its unusual shape. In the above photo you can see the shape from the side. Also, both sides of the building have colorful glass windows.
In case, you book a guided tour, you can also feel the wonderful sound inside the building. They demonstrate it with a hidden organ.
There is also a small auditorium, the Sala d’Assaig de l’Orfeó Català (the Orfeó Català Rehearsal Room), just below the main stage. Artists can use this area for performances with small audience or for exercises. This area is as good equipped as the central auditorium. The guided tour starts here with a short documentary with testimonials from many international musicians, praising the Palau. Here you can find the first stone of the Palau, laid in 1905.
The Foyer of the Palau is an area for waiting while drinking a coffee or a tea. This area is open to the public as a café or cafeteria.
Take care!
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