A modern classic returns: Carmina Burana back in Barcelona

The Catalan theatre company La Fura dels Baus returns to the Barcelona stage this week with its touring production of Carmina Burana, a reinterpretation of Carl Orff's cantata. 

The performance opens on May 20 at the Teatre Tívoli and runs until June 1. 

Originally premiered in 1937, Orff's Carmina Burana is based on 24 medieval poems from a larger 13th-century manuscript discovered in a Bavarian monastery in 1803. 

The poems explore themes of fate, love, hedonism, and the changing nature of fortune. 

Orff's adaptation is known for its dramatic choral arrangements and orchestration. 

"Carmina Burana is an orgasm. It's like a ritual of initiation into life in the spring," says director Carlus Padrissa, one of La Fura's founding members. "It's like a song to life. It's about forgetting the problems of the world and dedicating oneself to what the human essence came to this planet for - to reproduce." 

La Fura dels Baus, known for its experimental and immersive theatre, first premiered its version of Carmina Burana in 2009. 

The production blends live music with physical theatre and symbolic visuals, including a giant moon, suspended performers, and elements like water, fire, and wine. 

The experience is designed to fully envelop the audience's senses, including through the use of scent. 

Fifteen years later, the show remains unchanged. "We created it 15 years ago and haven't touched anything, because it's like painting a great painting: you don’t touch it, because it turned out really well," Padrissa explains. 

"We were lucky to be inspired at the time we created it, and we've left it as is, because if we changed it, everything would be different." 

Since its last Barcelona performance, the show has been staged 179 times for more than 200,000 spectators. 

In total, it has reached over 500,000 viewers in five countries, making it one of La Fura dels Baus' longest-running and most widely toured productions. 

Padrissa believes the medieval source material still resonates. 

"Time and history repeat themselves, and those old monks, the goliards, were like the hippies of the '60s and '70s roaming around San Francisco." 

Though the production is visually striking, it retains the full score of Orff's original composition. Over 50 artists are involved, including singers, musicians, and aerial performers. 

Reflecting on the production's return to the Catalan capital, Padrissa says: "It feels great, because we see that we've created something that's a modern classic, and as the years go by, the costumes still look beautiful, they hold up. And with age, they actually look even better." 

Tickets for the upcoming performances in Barcelona are available through the production's official website.