A WORLD OF CREATIVE INSPIRATION
This morning, the Jardins del Castell de Peralada gardens hosted the presentation of the programme for the 39th edition of Festival Perelada, to take place from 3 to 18 July across various locations within the Castell de Peralada estate, including the Church of El Carme, the castle viewpoint (Mirador del Castell) and the Celler Perelada.
Oriol Aguilà, artistic director of the festival, was joined by singer and composer Elena Tarrats, playwright Helena Tornero and musicians Miquel Vich, Pau Codina, and Marc Heredia to unveil the details of a new edition that remains true to the festival’s summer spirit. With twelve performances in total, this year highlights the festival’s commitment to innovation, cross-disciplinary collaboration and artistic excellence. From opera and lied (art song) to flamenco, contemporary dance and freer forms of creative expression, the event once again offers audiences extraordinary cultural experiences in exceptional settings.
Matthew Reger Suqué, representing the Suqué-Mateu family, welcomed attendees and remarked: “Perelada is a unique meeting point where music and art merge with the beauty of our surroundings. This summer, we invite you all to experience the Festival as a true celebration of the senses in our beautiful garden paradise where once again, the magic of Perelada is coming to life.”
Isabel Suqué Mateu, president of Festival Perelada, also shared a message to mark the launch of this new edition: “This Festival is the shared dream of our family and a firm commitment to culture as a space for freedom and inspiration. We are thrilled to see how, year after year, Perelada becomes a haven for artists and a gathering place for our audience. It is a source of pride to keep this legacy alive and to present this new edition.”
Festival Perelada continues to consolidate its place as a stand-out event on the calendar for culture lovers, bringing together music, art and a programme of exceptional cultural significance for the region.
Oriol Aguilà, artistic director of Festival Perelada, emphasised: “Festival Perelada offers a rich and diverse cultural programme, featuring works that span opera, dance, early and contemporary music, theatrical reflection and hybrid forms. This edition brings together world-renowned artists and the vitality of emerging creators, making Perelada a place of connection, emotion and transformation through art.” “This year, the Festival is inspired by the fascinating world of garden art, exploring the many meanings and interpretations of paradise. We journey through new creations, including the world premiere of Hort/Garden, which reflects on memory and utopia through the cultivation of a family garden as a shared cosmos; and Genius Loci, which unfolds as a dialogue between gardener and garden,” Aguilà concluded.
A programme that invites you to dream, to seek refuge, to enter Eden
Festival Perelada presents a distinctive artistic vision that invites visitors to immerse themselves in the gardens, not only as a biological microcosm, but as a space steeped in history. In Peralada, this living landscape is also the birthplace of a founding dream: to create a festival devoted to the arts. More than a cultural event, the Festival becomes a sensory journey - an experience of retreat and creative exploration. It is an open invitation to immerse yourself, to step into the garden and discover our little slice of paradise, in the company of some of the most relevant voices and performers of the moment.
Intimate recitals in a unique setting
The Gothic church of El Carme will provide the backdrop for some of the most memorable vocal evenings of this year’s edition. On 3 July, the celebrated mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato will open the Festival with a lyrical recital, accompanied by pianist Craig Terry. Renowned for her extraordinary versatility and emotional depth, DiDonato will make her Festival debut, having already captivated audiences on the world’s most prestigious stages. Her powerful, nuanced voice has brought to life both baroque heroines and contemporary figures, establishing her as one of the most influential voices in today’s lyrical music scene.
On 6 July, father and son duo Christoph and Julian Prégardien will perform together for the first time in Spain. Joined by pianist Saskia Giorgini and narrator Alba Pujol, they will premiere In Paradisum, a Festival commission that pays tribute to Central European Romanticism through the works of Schubert and Liszt in a musical journey that transforms from darkness to light. This recital also features the participation of Miquel Genescà, a member of the Escolania de Montserrat, in celebration of the Abbey’s millennium.
On 11 July, Katia and Marielle Labèque present a piano recital that explores different ways of experiencing and expressing fantasy: Le jardin féerique. Charismatic and deeply attuned, the Labèque sisters form one of the most acclaimed piano duos on the international stage. Celebrated for both their command of the classical repertoire and their bold forays into contemporary and experimental music, they present a repertoire to include performances from the fairytale magic of Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye and the poetic intensity of Schubert’s Fantasia in F minor, to the hypnotic rhythms of Four Movements for Two Pianos by Philip Glass.
On 12 July, baroque music takes centre stage as William Christie and his renowned ensemble Les Arts Florissants perform G. F. Handel’s first oratorio, Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno, composed in 1707. The evening forms part of Christie’s 80th birthday international tour, during which the maestro and harpsichordist will be awarded the Festival’s Medal of Honour in recognition of his extraordinary career.
American soprano Angel Blue will make her Festival debut on 13 July with a lyrical recital that moves from opera arias to musical theatre gems, jazz, zarzuela and African-American spiritual, delivering a programme that combines expressive power with elegance.
On 17 July, in honour of the 50th anniversary of Conxita Badia, the Church of El Carme will host the premiere of Melodies compartides - a concert that pays tribute to one of the most profound artistic friendships in Catalan music history: the bond between cellist Pau Casals and soprano Conxita Badia. Pau Codina, Marc Heredia and Montserrat Seró will bring voice and music to this historic connection.
The Festival will conclude on 18 July with George, an intimate recital by soprano Sonya Yoncheva inspired by the literary world of George Sand. Blending lyrical repertoire with the emotional depth of Sand’s writing, Yoncheva invites audiences to explore the author’s passionate and defiant universe.
Landscape and experimentation
The contemporary, immersive setting of Celler Perelada will host performances blending dance and groundbreaking sound creation. On 4 July, choreographer and dancer Lorena Nogal will premiere Le Terroir, a site-specific piece that explores human transformation through movement, inspired by the process of turning grapes into wine. Performed with dancer Álvaro Esteban and accompanied by the innovative electronic music of Franco Mento, this new piece commissioned by the Festival invites the audience to enter a universe of sensation, where dance blends with elemental forces like wind and earth.
On 9 July, Frames Percussion - the leading collective for new sound creation in Catalonia - will present a double programme featuring L’Opera (forse) by Francesco Filidei and La Nature dans le Miroir by Cathy van Eck. This radical, immersive experience transforms the stage into a space for reflection and sonic exploration.
The Spirit of Place
The Mirador del Castell will host three performances that explore nature, memory and the passage of time.
On 5 July, the Festival presents the world premiere of Genius Lociin a singular stage production that immerses audiences in an imaginary garden. Inspired by the fascinating book El jardín perdido (Elba, 2018) by Jorn de Précy, it offers a sensory and philosophical journey through music spanning from the Renaissance to the 20th century, with works by John Dowland, Henry Purcell, Benjamin Britten and John Williams. Featuring countertenor Xavier Sabata, directed by Rafael R. Villalobos, with the collaboration of theorbo player Jonas Nordberg and violist Liam Byrne, the production includes poetic staging by visual artist Cachito Vallés. Together, they craft a contemporary eclogue that moves the soul through voice, gesture and spoken word.
Dance returns on 10 July with Origen. La semilla de los tiempos, in a powerful encounter between the Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía and the Accademia del Piacere that bridges flamenco and baroque music through a contemporary lens. With musical direction by Fahmi Alqhai and choreography by Patricia Guerrero, this production builds a bridge between eras, creating a unique atmosphere where music and dance speak in unison. A visual and sonic rhapsody in which the past pulses powerfully within the present, and where art becomes a form of continuity.
16 July will see the premiere of Hort / Garden, an opera-monologue hybrid born from the creative vision of Elena Tarrats. With a text by playwright Helena Tornero, the work imagines the story of a granddaughter and her grandfather, united by a deep love for the family garden. After her grandfather’s passing, the young woman discovers that the garden continues to thrive - a living symbol of a legacy that endures beyond time and absence. The stage concept, developed by director and visual artist Silvia Costa - making her Festival debut - transforms the Mirador del Castell into a poetic greenhouse where life, memory and loss blossom through music. The score, composed collectively by Damien Bazin, Mario G. Cortizo and Tarrats herself, forms the emotional core of the piece. Hort / Garden is a co-production of Festival Perelada and Òpera de Butxaca i Nova Creació.
The Festival travels to Finland
This summer, Festival Perelada will make its debut at the prestigious Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland, presenting its acclaimed production of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. While not the first time the Festival has crossed borders, this marks its first appearance at the historic event, with performances scheduled for 29 and 31 July and 2 August 2025.
Premiered at the Festival’s auditorium in summer 2022, this five-act baroque semi-opera, inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was created as a tribute to Perelada’s storied opera nights. With dramaturgy by Joan Anton Rechi, The Fairy Queen uses the device of theatre within theatre to blur the boundaries between dream and reality. Shakespeare’s spirits take on the personas of iconic opera characters such as Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Escamillo and Don Giovanni, who come to life in a garden where anything is possible.
Musical direction will be led by Dani Espasa, with countertenor Xavier Sabata – one of the conceptual forces behind the production – serving as master of ceremonies, joined by the vocal ensemble O Vos Omnes.
Artistic Confluences: a parallel programme of dialogues and cultural activities
As always, Festival Perelada extends far beyond the stage. Alongside the main performances, a parallel programme of talks, screenings and cultural events enriches the Festival experience. Hosted in a variety of venues and institutions, these activities offer audiences the chance to explore the historical, artistic and philosophical contexts that shape the music of this year’s edition.
- 4 June – 6:00 p.m. (Institut Français, Barcelona)
Dialogue: “The Garden as a Stage for the Arts” William Christie and John Hoyland will reflect on how gardens can become natural scenographies – spaces where audiences experience music and art as immersive, evocative and singular encounters.
- 5 July – 7:30 p.m. (Castell de Peralada Library)
Dialogue: “The Garden Dramaturgy of Paradise” Writer and gardener Marco Martella joins stage director Rafael R. Villalobos to explore humanity’s relationship with nature through the narrative of the lost garden. They will explore how theatrical space can be transformed into a living garden, where dramaturgy becomes an organic composition.
- 16 July – 7:30 p.m. (Castell de Peralada Library)
Dialogue: “The Garden: The Seasons of the Soul” Helena Tornero and Elena Tarrats will have a chat with renowned psychiatrist and author of 'The Well-Gardened Mind', Sue Stuart-Smith. Together, they will explore the garden as a space of emotional, spiritual and physical wellbeing.
Gardens on the big screen:
In collaboration with the Barcelona Film Fest, Cinemes Verdi will host two special screenings: On 12 June at 8:15 p.m., Beauty and the Beast (1946), directed by Jean Cocteau. And on 19 June at 8:15 p.m., Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse (2016), a documentary directed by David Bickerstaff.
Summer Camp:
Once again, the Festival Perelada opens its doors to the Campus d’Estiu (Summer Camp) for students from the local area who are pursuing studies in the performing arts or related fields. Designed to enrich their training, this initiative provides access to curated content not available to the general public and facilitates contact for them with professionals from the sector.
- 2 July – 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.(Sala Miquel Mateu – Centre Turisme Cultural Sant Domènec)
So o soroll?: (Sound or Noise?) Sound workshop led by Miquel Vich. An introduction to musical aesthetics from the second half of the 20th century to the present day, in which participants will explore how the boundaries between sound and noise have shifted, how new ways of organising sound have emerged, and how technology has influenced instrumental practice.
- 8 July – 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Figueres Library)
L’escriptura inesperada (Unexpected Writing): An introductory workshop in creative and stage writing led by Helena Tornero. It invites participants to play with words – essential to dramatic writing – as a way of exploring their expressive possibilities and our relationship with language.
- 10 July – Time TBC (Mirador del Castell de Peralada)
Attendance at the general rehearsal of Origen. La semilla de los tiempos.
Dance students will enjoy exclusive access to the dress rehearsal of this production on the day of its premiere.
All Summer Camps activities are free of charge with prior registration via the website: Campus Estiu - Festival Castell de Peralada (festivalperalada.com).