BAYREUTH AT PERALADA CASTLE
On Monday, Peralada Castle hosted the official presentation of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra's tour, which will take place in 2026 to mark the 150th anniversary of the prestigious German festival.
The event was attended by Katharina Wagner, Director of the Bayreuth Festival, and conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, Musical Director of the tour, along with representatives of the main theatres and festivals that will host the project: Oriol Aguilà (Perelada Festival), Joan Oller (Palau de la Música Catalana), Joan Matabosch (Teatro Real), Javier Menéndez (Teatro de la Maestranza) and Cosme Marina González (Santander International Festival). Vicente Llimerá, Director of the Palau de la Música in Valencia, also joined remotely online.
Perelada Festival Director, Oriol Aguilà, opened the presentation by highlighting the symbolic and emotional significance of this moment for the festival: "The Perelada Festival has begun the prelude to the celebration of its 40th anniversary in recent days in Rome, in a very special and exciting edition, which will come to a close at the end of next summer, in 2026, with a historic visit: that of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra." Aguilà also recalled the origins of this exceptional collaboration: "This presentation, in which Perelada is acting as host, stems from a proposal our festival made to Katharina Wagner in 2021. We sincerely thank her for her warmth and collaboration, which have made this tour possible to celebrate, with all due honours, the 150th anniversary of this unique and iconic German festival."
Joan Oller, General Director of Palau de la Música Catalana, highlighted the institution’s long Wagnerian tradition: "Palau de la Música Catalana and the Orfeó Català choir have a long and prominent Wagnerian tradition, which reached one of its high points in 1913, when several festivals dedicated to Wagner were held, conducted by the then Director of the Bayreuth Festival. The Orfeó has always performed choral pieces by the German composer, and the Palau has maintained a close affinity with him. This profound connection is even reflected in its architecture: the Valkyries are depicted at the entrance to the stage, and a bust of Wagner can be seen on the façade. For the Palau, hosting the celebration of the Bayreuth Festival’s anniversary and the closing concert of the 40th anniversary of the Perelada Festival means contributing to yet another historic day, with the presence of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and director Pablo Heras-Casado, who has close ties to the venue. We are particularly pleased to see how Heras-Casado continues to achieve great success as a leading Wagnerian performer, thus consolidating a long-standing relationship with the Perelada Festival."
A Tour Uniting Bayreuth and Perelada
The tour will begin on 29 August 2026 at Palau de la Música Catalana, coinciding with the closing of the 40th anniversary of the Perelada Festival. This project will build an artistic and symbolic bridge between Bayreuth and Perelada, uniting two leading institutions in the promotion of opera and symphonic music in Europe.
"This concert will bring the Perelada Festival back to Barcelona, in line with our aim of promoting our festival throughout the country, and will find a magnificent venue in Palau de la Música Catalana to welcome and celebrate Wagnerism in Catalonia, which is so deeply rooted and significant," said Aguilà. "This tour also brings us together with beloved institutions such as the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, the Palau de la Música in Valencia and the Santander International Festival, with which we have collaborated on numerous occasions throughout our history."
The tour will then continue to other major venues, including the Santander International Festival (31 August), Teatro de la Maestranza (2 September), Teatro Real (3 September) and Palau de la Música in Valencia (6 September).
The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra’s last performance in Spain took place at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in 2012, marking the German orchestra’s return after almost half a century of absence. Prior to that visit, its last performance was in 1955, also at the Liceu, conducted by Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner. Now, 14 years later, Bayreuth returns to Spain to once again captivate Wagnerian audiences.
The tour programme will feature a selection of the most emblematic moments from Richard Wagner’s (1813–1883) The Ring of the Nibelung with orchestral and vocal excerpts from Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. The soloists who will accompany the orchestra will be announced shortly, as well as the dates for ticket sales for each concert.
The tour manager, Iván Paley, highlighted the artistic and logistical scope of this historic project: "The Bayreuth Festival’s 150th anniversary tour is a major artistic and human challenge, the result of collaboration and partnership between leading institutions. Working together with the Perelada Festival and Spain’s foremost theatres and auditoriums has been an inspiring process, highlighting the power of culture as a common language. Bringing the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra to Spain, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, is a way of celebrating Wagner’s legacy while also projecting it into the future." Paley added: "The tour is not yet finalised, so there may still be room for a few more theatres to join."
Next, the director of the Santander International Festival, Cosme Marina, noted the coincidence of this major project with a particularly special anniversary for his institution: "Next year, the Santander International Festival will celebrate its 75th edition. That is why we have prepared an exceptional programme that will open with a new production of The Magic Flute, conducted by David Afkham, and will close with this spectacular concert by the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra under the direction of Pablo Heras-Casado. For the Festival, it will be one of the great events of these 75 years. We aim to bring the highest international excellence to Cantabria, and this collaboration with the Perelada Festival and the other institutions and theatres participating in the tour is a source of great joy for us. We would also like to express our sincere thanks to Katharina Wagner for her work, dedication and drive in making this project possible."
Next, from Seville, Javier Menéndez, General Director of the Teatro de la Maestranza, said: “Being part of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra’s first Spanish tour on its 150th anniversary is a source of great pride for the Teatro de la Maestranza. We have an important relationship with Wagner, especially considering that we are a relatively young theatre, so we can’t think of a better way to open the 26/27 season than with this extraordinary concert, and even more so under the baton of Andalusian conductor Pablo Heras-Casado."
The Artistic Director of the Teatro Real, Joan Matabosch, highlighted the historical significance of this event: "The Bayreuth Festival has toured very little throughout its history. That is why it is such an event and a privilege for the Teatro Real to welcome the extraordinary Bayreuth Festival Orchestra on its tour of Spain, taking place the week after the end of the 2026 festival. It should be remembered that Spain has hosted some of these rare tours: Bayreuth visited the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona on two occasions — in 1955, with Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner at the helm of the institution, and in 2012, when the orchestra and choir performed three operas in concert that they had just performed at the festival. On this occasion, the event is even more significant, as the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra will return to Spain under the baton of Pablo Heras-Casado, following the undeniable success of his Parsifal, which he conducted for four consecutive years on the Green Hill. He is now preparing to tackle Wagner’s Ring Cycle in Bayreuth, after having conducted it at the Teatro Real in a memorable production staged by Robert Carsen and featuring several singers with whom he has since collaborated in Bayreuth. The Bayreuth Festival’s Spanish tour is largely due to the work and vision of Katharina Wagner, who has close ties to Spain and has managed to unite the country’s leading theatres and concert halls in this project. The Teatro Real awaits this visit with great anticipation and excitement."
Finally, the Director of the Palau de la Música de València, Vicente Llimerá, who followed and participated in the press conference online due to the effects of the recent cold drop, highlighted the cultural and symbolic significance of Bayreuth’s arrival in the city: "It is an honour and an immense joy for the Palau de la Música de València to welcome, on 6 September 2026, the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and soloists, conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, as part of the tour marking the 150th anniversary of the Bayreuth Festival. This is one of the most important cultural events in contemporary European music. I would like to highlight the work and leadership of Katharina Wagner and Pablo Heras-Casado, whose vision has given this project the international momentum it deserves. I would also like to express my appreciation to the Perelada Festival, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and whose initiative, generosity and commitment to culture continue to inspire and enrich the musical life of our country. The presence in Valencia of such an exceptional project, coinciding with the start of the 2026/27 season — in which the Palau de la Música is also celebrating its 40th anniversary — will allow us to share with our audience the artistic excellence and profound Wagnerian legacy that Bayreuth represents, thanks to world-class performers and an internationally renowned Spanish conductor. In our city, music is much more than an artistic expression: it has become a driving force for cultural, social and economic development, within the framework of the Valencia Music City 2025–2030 strategy promoted by Valencia City Council. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to the management of the Bayreuth Festival, the Perelada Festival, and all the theatres, auditoriums and festivals involved in this tour for making it possible for our city to be part of this historic journey. It will undoubtedly be an unforgettable day for the Palau, for Valencia and for all the music lovers who will experience it with us."
Pablo Heras-Casado and Katharina Wagner, Two Leading Figures
The musical director of the tour, Pablo Heras-Casado, expressed his excitement about this challenge: "I feel very grateful and privileged to be able to lead this tour with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra in Spain. The Bayreuth Festival is a unique place in the world, where Wagner’s work is experienced with unparalleled artistic intensity. The musicians who make up this festival experience it as a musical tradition passed down from generation to generation. Being able to bring that spirit to Spain — a country with a great Wagnerian tradition, and where I myself grew up as a musician — is a dream come true. This tour is also an opportunity to share that way of living and breathing this music."
Conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, recently awarded the 2025 Spanish National Music Prize and named Best Conductor 2025 (Oper! Awards), is one of the most versatile and prestigious conductors on the international scene. Since his debut with Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival (2023), he has established himself as one of the leading Wagnerian interpreters of his generation.
Katharina Wagner, great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner and Director of the Bayreuth Festival since 2015, highlighted the exceptional nature of this collaboration: "It is a real honour and pleasure for me to have accepted this invitation, which arose from the complicity between Oriol Aguilà and Pablo Heras-Casado. It is not easy for us to perform outside our festival, as we do not have a permanent orchestra, which makes it very difficult to appear elsewhere. However, in this case, the musicians have enthusiastically accepted the invitation to take part in this tour and travel to Spain. We are very happy to be able to celebrate our 150th anniversary in a country with such a long Wagnerian tradition, and from the outset I was convinced that Pablo Heras-Casado should conduct. We have a musical director of extraordinary quality, and there was no one better suited to lead this tour. I am deeply grateful to all the people and institutions that have made this shared artistic adventure possible."
Awards such as the Bavarian Order of Merit and the Maximilian Order for Science and Art attest to Katharina Wagner’s distinguished career and her outstanding work at the helm of the legendary German festival.
The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra: 150 Years of Excellence
Founded by Richard Wagner in 1876, the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra is composed of around 200 musicians from the leading symphony orchestras in Germany and across Europe. Historically conducted by maestros such as Karl Böhm, Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann and Kirill Petrenko, the ensemble is regarded as an undisputed benchmark in Wagnerian interpretation.
"The programme will be dedicated to the Wagnerian universe and will feature the Granada-born conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, who has close ties to the Girona region and who, in recent years, has conducted Parsifal in Bayreuth and will soon lead the new Ring on the Green Hill," explained Aguilà. "This project is a tribute to Wagner’s history and vision, but also a step forward in European cultural collaboration," Oriol Aguilà concluded, "a project that symbolises the spirit of dialogue and complicity that defines the Perelada Festival and propels us into the future with the same passion and ambition with which we were born forty years ago."
With this collaboration, Perelada strengthens its bond with Europe’s great musical tradition and reaffirms its vocation as a space for dialogue between cultures and generations of artists.