Barcelona's Liceu opera is back in business after more than 3 months of silence, but its return concert leaves a lot to be desired ... mostly, a human audience.
In a truly bizarre sight, the musicians for Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu opera put on a show for nearly 2,300 nursery plants placed in the seats instead of people.
Organizers of Monday's concert say the goal was to raise awareness of how important audiences are in post-lockdown life, and to reflect on the absurdity of human life amid a pandemic. Check and check!
As an added bonus -- all the plants will be donated to frontline health workers.
The Concert for the Biocene comes one day after the end of Spain’s state of emergency. The country has been one of the hardest hit by COVID-19, at least in Europe, with more than 28,000 deaths.
The Liceu says it hopes the show reaffirms the value of art, music and nature and paves the way for returning to normal activity.
Of course, replacing the sound of leaves rustling with actual applause would be another step in the right direction.