Barcelona's opera house, El Liceu, opened to great fanfare in 1847, and again in 2000 when a new and improved version was finished after a devastating fire destroyed the original 6 years before. During its first life, El Liceu had been a symbol of the city's bourgeoisie, often provoking the wrath of the proletariat. (A telling note is that in 1893, an anarchist threw two bombs from a first-floor balcony into the audience, killing 22 people.) It was the principal venue for the Wagnerian craze that swept the city in the late 19th century. During its second incarnation, El Liceu consolidated its reputation as one of the finest opera houses in the world. The original design -- based on La Scala in Milan -- had a seating capacity of almost 4,000. The 1994 fire (started by sparks from the blowtorch of a stage worker) destroyed everything but the facade and members' room. The subsequent renovation saw the demolition of neighboring buildings for new rehearsal space and workrooms (much to the horror of neighborhood-action groups, provoking a further backlash), and the auditorium returned to its former gilt, red velvet, and marble glory. Tickets to the concerts, at least the evening performances, are quite expensive but, as with the Palau de la Música, tours of the edifice are available.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Barcelona, 2nd Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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